Cairo, 31 August 2021: – The Republic of Rwanda has become the first African country to ratify the Agreement for the Establishment of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), while the Republic of Togo and the Republic of South Sudan have recently acceded to the Agreement establishing this development impact-oriented subsidiary of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, signed the FEDA Establishment Agreement into law giving FEDA international recognition and the ability to fully operate and deliver its trade mandate in the country. This ratification by Rwanda is a major milestone in the process of fulfilling the legal requirements for the establishment of FEDA as an international organisation.
In addition, South Sudan and Togo joined Rwanda, Mauritania and Guinea to become signatories of the Establishment Agreement of FEDA.
These signings constituted another milestone in Afreximbank’s efforts to mobilize its Member States to sign and ratify the FEDA Establishment Agreement and demonstrated the growing support for FEDA to complete its legal establishment.
Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank and Board Chairman of FEDA said:
“The recent accessions to the FEDA Establishment Agreement by the Republic of Togo and the Republic of South Sudan and the ratification by the Republic of Rwanda is a demonstration of the growing momentum and support for FEDA as a new multilateral development platform, which will play a critical role in promoting industrialization, export development and Intra-African trade. Afreximbank is pleased with the shared vision amongst its Member States to establish a trade-focused development-oriented entity aimed at providing critical equity funding that SMEs lack on the African continent.”
FEDA’s activities are designed to support the expansion of industrial infrastructure and the promotion of intra-African trade. FEDA aims to provide equity finance to companies operating in key industries and sectors in order to significantly increase the delivery of Afreximbank’s development priorities, thereby meeting the Bank’s strategic goals under the main pillars of the bank’s intra-African Trade Strategy and its Industrialisation and Export Development Strategy.
About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. Afreximbank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. The Bank has a rich history of intervening in support of African countries in times of crisis. Through the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA) launched in April 2020, Afreximbank has disbursed more than US$6.5 billion in 2020 to help member countries manage the adverse impact of financial, economic, and health shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has completed the development of a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Afreximbank is working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of 2020, the Bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at US$21.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$3.4 billion. Afreximbank disbursed more than US$42 billion between 2016 and 2020. The Bank has ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A-), Moody’s (Baa1) and Fitch (BBB-). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com.
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