Leaders of Africa’s top financial institutions will gather in
Abidjan from 2 to 3 May for the first ever continental conference looking at
the current state of intra-African trade finance and payment systems and at
their impact on the drive to achieve enhanced trade among the countries of the
continent.
Organized by the
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the Intra-African Trade Finance and
Payment Systems Conference will provide a platform for industry participants to
exchange information on intra-African trade finance and payment systems and to
identify solutions to the financing challenges confronting intra-African trade.
“This conference is
borne out of the overwhelming consensus on the pivotal role that intra-regional
trade has played in the development of other regions of the world, but, in
particular, on the critical role it could play in the process of driving growth
and structural transformation in Africa,” said Dr. Benedict Oramah, President
of Afreximbank.
Dr. Oramah
said that the conference was conceived as part of a concerted effort by
Afreximbank to ensure the immediate and effective implementation of its
recently-launched Intra-African Trade Strategy.
According to him,
the opportunity to share innovative solutions in the area of trade finance and
payment systems is critical at a time when international Banks are either
leaving African markets or are scaling-down their financing of trade in the
region where access to trade finance remains a major constraint.
Participants in the conference will include chief executives
and senior representatives of banks, law firms, think tanks, export credit
agencies, logistics companies, regional economic communities, the African
Union, central banks and other financial institutions involved in supporting
trade in Africa.
Also in attendance
will be trading companies engaged in intra-African trade for whom effective
trade financing mechanisms and payment systems remain a major challenge.
Obi Emekekwue
E-mail: oemekekwue@afreximbank.com;
Tel. +202-2456-4238)
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