African Development Bank Supports Entrepreneurship in Transition States Through Equity Investment in Trade and Development Bank

27 November 2018
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved an additional equity investment of US$ 25 million in Trade and Development Bank (TDB) to enhance the latter's trade, finance and infrastructure investment operations. The investment will help expand Trade and Development Bank's diverse socio-economic development interventions in countries in situations of fragility including Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Sudan.

The additional investment will also help strengthen and consolidate TDB's investment grade rating and leverage for securing funding at competitive terms. TDB is currently rated 'Baa3' by Moody's and 'BB' by Fitch ratings.

"A financially strong Trade and Development Bank will help unlock funding towards transformational projects and increased productive capacity in its Member States, as well as actively support regional integration in North, Eastern and Southern Africa", said Stefan Nalletamby, Director, Financial Sector Development of the African Development Bank. "It sends a strong signal that Africa is ready to finance regional trade and infrastructure operations, especially in countries transitioning from fragility".

The investment will help to enhance enterprise development and competitiveness through expansion of economic output and improved competitiveness, which will in turn help generate development impact in the form of private sector development and job creation, increased taxes and government revenues in Eastern and Southern African countries.

Founded in 1985 as a regional trade and development lender for Eastern and Southern African, TDB has had a longstanding relationship for over thirty years with the African Development Bank as a strategic investor and lender. TDB's operations span 22 Member States with a combined Gross Domestic Product in excess of US$855 billion and a total population of close to 650 million.

As part of implementation arrangements, the African Development Bank and TDB will sign a subscription agreement to govern the use of proceeds, disbursement triggers, reporting requirements as well as other reporting/compliance obligations.

This equity investment is aligned with the Bank's Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022) as well several of its High 5 priorities, including Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, Light Up and Power Africa, and Feed Africa.

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

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