CHAMWE KAIRA
Afreximbank is currently considering facilities for two local banks, one for a letter of credit confirmation facility and a second one to act as a Trade Finance Intermediary and Local Administrative Agent.
Gwen Mwaba, Managing Director for Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking, Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank explained in an interview that nominated trade finance intermediaries act as its local administrative agents in different African markets.
She was speaking on the sidelines of a the annual Afreximbank Trade Finance Seminar held in Windhoek. She said the Bank has been holding these seminars since 1999 and said added that the idea of bringing this kind of seminar to the African continent was to make it more accessible to local bankers.
Mwaba said Namibia has not had the opportunity to host this event before. She said by hosting this event in Namibia we hope to create awareness of the work of Afreximbank and we hope to see local financial institutions collaborating with Afreximbank, who that can provide them facilities for their liquidity.
“We can also help them to co-finance large projects and other transactions,” She added. The bank also uses the seminars as an opportunity to promote local tourism. “Delegates often come back with their families after they have seen the potential in the country.”
In terms of Afreximbank activities, Namibia’s is a low penetration country, potential is promising and we will continue our engagements with local banks and other potential borrowers in the country, Mwaba said.
“That is why we came here; we feel that there is a lot more potential. The low penetration shows that the country is yet to understand does not really appreciate what Afreximbank can offer do for them.”
The bank is a multilateral financial institution. Category A of shareholders is made up of African Governments through the Ministry of Finance, central bank or nominated state owned enterprise. Namibia is a shareholder and the bank has 53 member states that are shareholders.
“Namibia as a country should take advantage and utilise the programmes and facilities that are available to it from Afreximbank,” Mwaba said.
She said Intra African trade is one of the bank’s two strategic pillars. The banks deal with global trade, that is trade between Africa and the rest of the world and also deals with intra African trade to boost intra-regional trade on the continent. The bank also works with the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat to implement the union’s trade agenda including payment systems and the building establishment of industrial parks.
Mwaba added that the bank also hosts the Intra Africa Trade Fair (IATF) a trade fair every two years with the next one scheduled to be held in Algeria in the latter part of 2025. She welcomed Namibian firms and delegates to register by visiting Afreximbank and IATF website.
Regarding Namibia’s oil boom and how the country can benefit from funding, Mwaba disclosed that Afreximbank finances a lot of fossil fuels projects on the African continent.
“We have huge facilities in nearly all the oil producing countries. It is important that we continue to support our African countries because we need revenue from this oil production to industrialize our countries. We also need funds to adapt to the impact of climate change. Those opportunities in Namibia are things that we would support. We have the technical expertise because we have done it in other countries.”