Signed by Ms. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, for Afreximbank, and Gagan Gupta, CEO ARISE IIP, for the company, at the ongoing Afreximbank Annual Meetings, the facility represents a continuation of the support provided by the Bank to ARISE IIP with close to US$700 million availed to the company over the past decade for the development of industrial parks and special economic zones in Gabon, Togo and Benin.

Afreximbank has also invested in ARISE IIP through its Fund for Export Development in Africa which availed a convertible loan to ARISE IIP in 2022.

Afreximbank is cognizant that most economies with the fastest growing exports have well-developed SEZ programmes which have led to employment creation. SEZs also help to structurally transform economies away from informality, promoting industrialization and supporting the growth of Intra-African trade and investments.

The ceremony also featured the signing and entry into force of a collaboration agreement between Malawi and ARISE IIP for the design, development, and operation of two world-class industrial parks and SEZs in Lilongwe and Blantyre to assist in closing gaps in industrial infrastructure to support the country’s focus on export manufacturing to transform its economy and generate jobs. The two projects are expected to attract investment exceeding US$900 million and generate around 200,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country.

Afreximbank supported the Government of Malawi to develop the projects from early stages up to bankability, including providing financing and technical assistance through its Project Preparation and Export Development departments.

The collaboration agreement addresses infrastructure gaps as the Government of Malawi seeks to accelerate structural transformation away from primary commodity exports to value addition.

In addition, Afreximbank and the Government of Malawi signed the renewal of an existing MOU geared towards the swift implementation of industrial projects, mega farms and an Export Trading Company. These initiatives are expected to generate investments exceeding US$1.5 billion in the short to medium term, with Afreximbank expected to provide advisory services to support effective implementation of the integrated development strategy, facilitating twinning and matching services to attract African direct investment, introducing and supporting African EPC companies.

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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 2022, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$31 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$5.2 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$86 billion between 2016 and 2022. 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”).

For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com