Afreximbank Opens Digital Trade Gateway to East African Businesses

Afreximbank has expanded its digital trade network into East Africa through a new agreement with the East African Business Council (EABC), giving businesses access to verified buyers and suppliers, trade finance and payment services across African markets.

The two institutions signed an Africa Trade Gateway Agency Agreement at the inaugural East Africa CEO & Investment Forum in Nairobi, establishing EABC as a trade corridor partner for Afreximbank’s Africa Trade Gateway.

The arrangement will connect EABC members, including small and medium-sized enterprises and large exporters, to the digital platform and its network of businesses and financial institutions.

The platform provides access to business-to-business matchmaking, market information, trade finance and payment solutions, allowing companies to search for potential trading partners while accessing services needed to complete cross-border transactions.

The agreement gives East African businesses a digital route into the East African Community’s common market of about 300 million people and the wider African Continental Free Trade Area market of about 1.3 billion consumers.

EABC has been promoting the digital trade ecosystem among its members and supporting businesses to join the platform. The council also provides businesses with information and advisory support on AfCFTA market opportunities, rules of origin, tariff concessions, customs procedures and export requirements.

Ahmed Farah, chief executive of EABC, said the partnership would connect enterprises to business-to-business matchmaking and trade finance services that could support intra-African trade under the AfCFTA.

Afreximbank’s Africa Trade Gateway was launched in June 2023 as a digital platform bringing together businesses, financial institutions and trade-supporting organisations. Its services cover trade finance, payments, compliance, logistics and market intelligence.

The platform now operates in more than 45 African countries and connects 45 trade-supporting institutions, 110 commercial banks and 25,000 verified companies, according to Afreximbank. It has an opportunity pipeline valued at 4.5 billion US dollars covering commodities, minerals, oil and gas, fast-moving consumer goods and other African-made products.

Haytham El Maayergi, executive vice-president of Afreximbank’s Global Trade Bank, said the platform was designed to help businesses overcome difficulties in identifying trusted counterparties and accessing services required for cross-border trade.

The agreement adds EABC to Afreximbank’s growing network of trade-supporting institutions using the Africa Trade Gateway to connect companies with opportunities beyond their domestic and regional markets.

Source: FSX Business News