The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Wednesday said that Africa required structured finance for effective financial trade to overcome uncertainty and economic difficulty to boost trade in the continent.
A statement issued by the bank’s Head of Media, Obi Emekekwue, quoted the Afreximbank President, Benedict Oramah, as saying that expertise in financial trade was in short supply in Africa and that “it is now commonly accepted that structured finance is an effective tool for financing trade in the context of uncertainty and economic difficulty.’’
The Afreximbank boss explained that in view of the emerging trend, the bank had developed two flagship courses to address the challenges.
According to him, the forum has also become an important platform for African bankers and other trade finance practitioners to meet and network, thereby making a major contribution in boosting African trade.
Oramah expressed optimism that the seminar would equip African financial institutions, bankers, regulatory agencies and corporate and legal firms with skills for dealing with the challenges of financing transactions under heightened global economic uncertainty.
Disclosing that the seminar will also focus on the Fundamentals of Structured Trade Finance, the AfDB chief believed that participants at the end of the seminar would acquire the skills and capacity to properly identify risks in typical trade finance transactions.
He explained further that the participants were expected to also be able to structure bankable trade and trade-related project finance deals of varying levels of complexity.
