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Dr. George Elombi, Afreximbank Executive Vice President (1st right), with other invitees at the forum
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The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will support the effort to achieve industrialisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and to expand the involvement of local entrepreneurs in the major sectors
of the economy, Dr. George Elombi, Executive Vice President of the Bank, announced in Kinshasa.
Speaking during the opening of the first business forum to be organised by Afreximbank in DRC, Dr. Elombi said that the Bank’s intervention in the country would focus on agriculture, energy and extractive industries, infrastructure, and support
to small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to him, these have been selected because they have a critical role to play in creating an industrial base with strong value addition and
in the diversification of the national economy. A strengthened industrial base and
diversification are among the key pillars of the Intra-African Trade Strategy which the Afreximbank launched recently.
Henri Yav, Minister of Finance of the DRC, noted that the forum was taking place at a time when the global economy remained volatile and difficult,
particularly for producers of primary commodities, like the DRC. To address that challenge, the country had decided to promote the
diversification of the economy
in order to strengthen its resilience against internal and
external shocks, he said, adding that the DRC’s ratification of the Afreximbank
Charter was done in that context.
Also speaking, Albert Yuma, President of the
National Federation of Businesses in the Congo, said that the support of regional
and continental institutions like Afreximbank, was indispensable
for the achievement of the economic emergence
of the DRC, especially in terms of responding to the short, medium and
long-term capital needs of actors in the local economy.
The forum
brought together institutions,
banks and businesses from the various sectors of the Congolese economy along with representatives of goverment agencies involved in the
development of trade.
The event
is part of an awareness campaign being organized by Afreximbank in its member
countries to enhance knowledge about its products and programmes and to
strengthen collaborative networks, gather insights about the needs of the
business community and expand trade finance activities.
Obi Emekekwue
Afreximbank External
Communications
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