The Ecobank Group is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to provide, via a number of its affiliates, a US$ 77.5 million equivalent multi-currency master trade finance facility to the East African soft commodity trader, Export Trading Group ("ETG"). Documented as a single financing, with local operational terms, the facility will provide local currency financing capacity to each of ETG's subsidiaries.
The transaction arranged by the Commodity Finance team in London will allow ETG to finance its soft commodity trading activities in 9 African countries (namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Uganda), thereby bolstering its position in core markets, and also to expand into new geographies in West Africa.
Jean Craven, Director: Head Corporate Finance, ETG, commented:
"ETG embarked on rolling out its West African business two years ago, initially covering 11 countries. With this new Ecobank facility, ETG will be able to strengthen its investment plans and trading activity across the region. We are both excited and thankful for Ecobank's valuable support."
Charles Kie, Ecobank's Group Head of Corporate Banking, added:
"This is a clear demonstration of the strategic advantages afforded by Ecobank's reach, enabling us to support key clients such as ETG in their pan-African development. By arranging a facility that encompasses numerous jurisdictions and currencies, we have enabled ETG to simplify and streamline its banking arrangements within Anglophone and Francophone markets. We are delighted to be able to assist ETG with its working capital requirements and look forward to building on our relationship in the future."
Notes to Editors
About Ecobank Group
Incorporated in Lomé, Togo, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is the parent company of the leading independent pan-African banking group. It currently has a presence in 33 African countries, namely: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The Group is also represented in France through its affiliate EBI S.A. in Paris. ETI also has representative office in Beijing, China, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and London, UK. ETI is listed on the stock exchanges in Lagos, Accra and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) – the BRVM in Abidjan. The Group has more than 600,000 local and international institutional and individual shareholders. The Group has 18,321 employees in 35 countries and 1,200 branches and offices.
Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals. Additional information may be found at
About Export Trading Group
ETG owns and manages a vertically integrated agriculture supply chain across the African subcontinent with operations spanning procurement, processing, warehousing, transport, distribution and merchandising. The company prides itself on connecting smallholder farmers to the global economy and the global economy back to smallholder farmers through a value chain that operates between the farm gates of emerging markets and supermarket shelves around the world.
ETG owns and manages the supply chain from start to finish and is able to maximize efficiencies at every stage of the continuum by matching market origination capacities in one area with market consumption patterns in another. In FY2012, ETG procured and distributed almost 1.4 million metric tonnes of 25 different commodities, including maize, pulses, wheat, rice, sugar, oilseeds, cashew nuts, coffee, tea, fertilizers and farm implements. Eighty percent of the African-originated stock was procured at the farm gate level. For more information, visit <http://www.etgworld.com>.
