Benedict Okey Oramah, the president and chairperson of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximabank), on Sunday said the bank planned to disperse about 85 billion U.S. dollars in support of intra-African trade until 2021. Speaking during a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Oramah said the move is crucial to achieving African economic integration.
“We already are in the process of launching the pan-African payment and settlement platform that will enable intra-African payment in local currency. We expect the pilot program to come to effect by May 2019,” said Oramah. The Afreximbank president also said the bank is working with the AU to provide a state-of-the-art trade information web portal that will complement existing business initiatives by providing up-to-date economic information. Afreximbank is a leading Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. The Cairo-headquartered bank has provided credit facilities totaling some 35 billion U.S. dollars to African business firms since its inception in 1993.
Source: CGTN