Dar es Salaam, 03 February 2016 – African businesses should capitalise on the advantages offered by factoring as an alternative trade finance instrument in order to trade more competitively, participants heard on Monday as a factoring promotion conference co-organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Factors Chain International (FCI) opened in Dar es Salaam.
Kanayo Awani, Director of Afreximbank’s Trade Finance and Branches Department and Chairperson of FCI’s Africa Chapter, speaking through Teddy Ngidjol, a manager in her department, said that that thinking was behind Afreximbank’s continuing emphasis on the promotion of factoring.
She said that Afreximbank also saw the promotion of factoring as a way to support African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to become indirect exporters in supply chains
Ms. Awani said that the two-day conference, with the theme “Introduction for getting started in factoring”, was aimed at expanding awareness and strengthening factoring capabilities while offering participants the opportunity to discuss the current state of the industry as well as network with members of the global factoring bodies.
In addition to introducing African banks and non-bank financial institutions to the financial instrument and funding them through lines of credit dedicated to factors, Afreximbank was also building capacity and fostering the creation of facilitative infrastructure for factoring, Ms. Awani stated.
Earlier, in an opening address, Lila H. Mkila, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Tanzania, said that factoring had the potential to place African exporters at near equal footing with other players in global markets.
In his own contribution, Peter Mulroy, Secretary General of FCI, highlighted the importance of factoring as a tool to finance SMEs, particularly at a time when global economic growth was slowing down.
The conference is featuring presentations by experts on the benefits and risks, mechanics and legal aspects of factoring and includes a session on the second day dedicated to case studies.
Media Contact: Fleur Tchibota (ftchibota@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4260)
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About Afreximbank:
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. The Bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors. Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations. Since 1994, Afreximbank has approved almost $35 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $4.5 billion in 2014. Afreximbank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com
About FCI:
FCI is the global representative body for factoring and financing of open account domestic and international trade receivables. With more than 400 member companies in 90 countries, FCI offers a unique network for cooperation in cross-border factoring. In 2016, the activities of IFG (International Factors Group) were integrated into FCI.