African banks must innovate, Minister tells Afreximbank Seminar participants

Categories: Press Releases

Media Contact: Obi Emekekwue (oemekekwue@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4238; Mobile +2010-2086-6222)

Cairo, 05 November 2012 – To compete with the rest of the world, Africa must resolve its skills gap and overcome its technical limitations, Mona Omar, the Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs of Egypt, said in Cairo today.

In an address at the opening of the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) annual Seminar/Workshop on the Fundamentals of Structured Trade Finance, Ambassador Omar said that recent developments in the global and African financial environments meant that African banks must continuously introduce innovative and tailor-made financial products and services in order to meet the financing needs of their clients and to effectively play the role of financial intermediation.

She said that by providing the specialised training programme to enhance the capabilities and skills of African Bankers and traders, Afreximbank was contributing to enhancing the capacity of African banks to play their intermediation roles and to contribute to the socio-economic development of the continent.

Jean-Louis Ekra, President of Afreximbank, said that there had been a sustained improvement in the structuring capacities of African banks and corporates as a result of the seminar/workshops and that the Bank had seen an increasing quality in the deal structures proposed by its trade finance intermediaries that participated in previous seminars.

“We have also seen a continued deepening of business relationships amongst banks that participate in our programmes,” said Mr. Ekra, adding, “growing business relationships and partnerships among the Banks have enhanced information sharing on best practices in the financing of viable trade and project ventures across the continent.”

Some partner banks in different countries had pooled their expertise to structure complex trade and project finance deals on the back of structuring capabilities acquired through the seminar/workshops, continued the President.

About 80 senior bankers and participants from other African financial institutions are taking part in the three-day training which is aimed at equipping them with the technical skills and knowledge to structure bankable trade and project finance deals in the challenging global and African operating environments. The programme includes two workshops on “Financial Modelling in Structured Trade and Project Finance” and “Promoting and Financing Trade between North Africa and Middle Africa: Facilities and Services”.

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About Afreximbank:
The African Export Import Bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. 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. AFREXIMBANK is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com