Monrovia, 03 April 2024 – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has concluded a three-day roadshow in Liberia in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Liberia, Oakwood Green Africa, Loita Capital Partners International and Havit Inc., aimed at bolstering Liberia’s efforts to grow trade. This follows a prior edition of the roadshow held in 2023.
Afreximbank’s Anglophone West Africa Regional Chief Operating Officer, Eric Monchu Intong led a high-powered delegation to meet with the newly elected President, H.E. Joseph Boakai and other government officials to understand the country’s vision and how the Bank can support through promoting, facilitating and financing intra and extra-African trade.
The roadshow themed ’Advancing Economic Development in Liberia through Trade’ saw the bank hold bilateral meetings with Government officials, led byH.E. President Joseph Boakai, Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Hon. Boima S. Kamara, and four Deputy Ministers of Finance. Other participants included Hon. Amin Modad, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Mr. Aloysius Tarlue Junior, Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia.
The second roadshow focused on presentations to the government and Liberia’s private and public sectors with the aim of highlighting the Bank’s mandate, programmes and facilities which the country and businesses could leverage to achieve their trade and economic objectives. Among these are the Afreximbank Trade Facilitation Facility (AFTRAF), Afreximbank Trade Payments Programme (AfPAY) and Afreximbank Trade Gateway (ATG), comprising Mansa Know Your Customer (KYC) repository, Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), Africa Trade Exchange (ATEX), Trade Intelligence and Trade Regulation Intelligence (TRADAR).
Over 200 participants from the government, private sector, business community and the public attended the successful roadshows.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Eric Monchu Intong, said: “We are very confident in Liberia’s new leadership and are pleased to work with President Joseph Boakai to fulfil his vision for the people of Liberia.” He added: “Since its inception Afreximbank has disbursed over US$200 million to Liberia in addition to financing the development of key infrastructural projects such as the Klay DC Clarke Road in Bomi County, the crucial 45-kilometre Capital City-Roberts International Airport Road that is under construction, and the Jahmale Medical Solution Centre.”
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Central Bank of Liberia Governor, Aloysius Tarlue Junior commended Afreximbank for its contributions in availing infrastructural support to Liberia and acknowledged the Bank’s crucial role in Africa’s development.
Mr. Modad, Minister of Finance and Development Planning, highlighted the importance of trade for sustainable economic growth and expressed confidence that Afreximbank understood Liberia’s situation and the role it needed to play to support the country.
Anthony Myers, Deputy Minister in charge of Fiscal Affairs, in a keynote address on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, urged Liberian businesses to take advantage of the roadshow to grow their businesses.
Statements were also made by representatives of Oakwood Green Africa, Loita Capital International Partners and Havit Inc., which partnered with Afreximbank in organising the roadshow.
ENDS
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Email: press@afreximbank.com
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About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA. At the end of September 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$33.4 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$5.8 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$104 billion between 2016 and 2023. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure, (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.