Cairo, 29 April 2017: – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has granted a $300-million financing facility to the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) to support Egypt’s industrialisation efforts.
Dr. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, and Hesham Okasha, Chairman of NBE, signed the facility agreement for the Industrialization Support Facility on behalf of their respective institutions during a ceremony held at the offices of NBE in Cairo on 27 April.
Dr. Oramah said that the facility would support Egypt’s Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SME) Initiative, which was launched in 2016 to provide five billion Egyptian pounds in loans to medium-sized companies in the industrial and agricultural sectors which constitute the main tradable sectors of the economy.
“With simple strokes of the pen, we will be consummating a deal that, by all measures, will contribute significantly to the Egyptian economy,” said the President in a speech before the signing ceremony. “We will be empowering small and medium-scale enterprises in the industrial and agricultural sectors to realise their business ambitions. As SMEs are major employers of labour in any economy, we expect this facility to boost employment and overall welfare of the Egyptian people.”
Being a hard currency facility, the facility would make it possible for beneficiaries to access essential investment goods from the international market to improve their competitiveness, he said, adding that the granting of the facility demonstrated Afreximbank’s commitment to the Egyptian economy and reflected the confidence of the Egyptian authorities in the Bank as a key financing partner.
He announced that, since inception in 1993, Afreximbank had approved credit facilities totaling $13.8 billion to Egyptian entities, representing 33.7 per cent of the total facilities approved by the Bank. Over the same period, the Bank confirmed and issued guarantees and letters of credit exceeding $2 billion on behalf of Egyptian entities.
Afreximbank currently had an outstanding credit portfolio of about $4.2 billion for Egypt, Dr. Oramah added.
Responding, Mr. Okasha said that the facility would have a very significant impact on the Egyptian economy through the boost it would give to the SME sector.
NBE had a very long experience in disbursing financing to SMEs and would ensure that the facility was properly utilized, he assured, adding that the bank looked forward to further collaboration with Afreximbank.
The Afreximbank and NBE teams in group photo following the signing of the agreement for the $300-million facility in Cairo.
Media Contact: Obi Emekekwue (oemekekwue@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4238)
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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, it has approved more than $51 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $10.3 billion in 2016. Afreximbank had total assets of $9.4 billion as at 30 April 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com