By improving access to finance for private enterprises, and specifically SMEs and Mid-caps, this loan will enhance intra-African trade as well as trade with the European Union. It will enable smaller companies to sustain and create new jobs and will ultimately stimulate the expansion, diversification and development of African trade. At least 25% of this financing will be dedicated to projects which will help to diversify the power mix in the region, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and supporting climate goals. 

Speaking from the Africa Day event, jointly hosted by the EIB and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank said: “The EIB, as the EU Bank, is committed to supporting investment in Africa that unlocks economic opportunities, creates jobs and tackles a changing climate. As one of the largest multilateral financial institutions, the EIB has a crucial role to play to help channel private capital towards the energy transition. This is urgent if we want to achieve the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. With this operation Afreximbank and the EIB are joining forces to improve access to clean energy across Africa”.

“We are confident that effective implementation of this facility, which heralds Afreximbank’s financing of climate action projects in Africa, will lead to strong development outcomes, including employment creation, increased economic activities, and increase in tax revenues for fiscally strained governments,” said Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah, President of Afreximbank. According to him, Afreximbank decided to conclude the facility in furtherance of its current strategy which prioritizes intra-African trade; intra–African investments, industrialization and export manufacturing of the labour intensive type.

Background information:

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 about $60 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $8.5 billion in 2017. Afreximbank had total assets of $11.9 billion as at 31 December 2017 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com

About the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union and is owned by the EU Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals both in Europe and beyond. The EIB is present in more than 160 countries and has been active across Africa for over 40 years. In sub-Saharan, the EIB operates under the Cotonou Agreement. The Bank supports regional development, private sector and key infrastructure contributing to economic growth. In 2017, we invested EUR 1.47 billion in 40 projects across sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, and the Overseas Countries and Territories.

EIB Africa Day

This 2018 edition of Africa Day is organised in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) around the theme of sustainable industrialisation.

The EIB’s Africa Day was created to explore the continent’s many challenges and discuss ways to tap into its huge potential. The event serves as a platform for debate in areas such as private sector development, finance for small businesses, jobs for youth and women, agriculture, innovation and digitalisation.

EIB Africa day programme: www.eib.org/africaday