Speakers at the opening of the 30th annual general meeting of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Accra on Sunday have stressed the need for Africa to boost intra-African trade and integration in the face of the challenges resulting from the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the adverse economic challenges due to the Ukraine crisis and other global conflicts.
The meeting is also being held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Afreximbank.
Mohamed Ahmed Maait, Minister of Finance of Egypt and Chairman of the Afreximbank annual meeting, who was represented by Gamal Negm, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, told participants that Africans must work collaboratively towards finding integrated solutions to the new challenges confronting the continent.
Mr Maait lauded Afreximbank for playing a significant role in developing and implementing solutions to address the challenges confronting Africa, and expressed the hope that AAM2023 would lead to even more constructive solutions to Africa's problems, describing the bank as one of the African institutions delivering on the African Union's (AU) Vision 2063.
Earlier, Dr Ernest Yedu Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, delivering his welcome remarks, said that Ghana represented the most appropriate venue for the celebration of Afreximbank's 30th anniversary given the bank's role in developing and promoting African trade, and the fact that Ghana was the home of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
Dr Addison said that Afreximbank had been very supportive of Ghana and had, over the years, provided more than two billion dollars to support the Ghanaian economy.
Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, said that with the inclusion of a vision for an integrated African market in the founding treaty of the OAU, the founding fathers of the AU had foreseen the need for Afreximbank.
That vision, he said, had been grounded in the objective of the integration of African trade finance.
Describing Afreximbank and the AfCFTA as twins born 30 years apart, Mr Mene noted that if trade barriers were eliminated and there were no trade finances, all the efforts would come to nothing. At the same time, if trade finances were available and trade barriers persisted and prevented trade, then all the efforts would still have been wasted.
In a related development, Afreximbank has also launched its wholly-owned insurance management services subsidiary, AfrexInsure, with a commitment to provide a single-entry point for all specialty insurance needs to assist in optimally managing related risks for the trade and commerce sector in Africa.
Established in 2021, AfrexInsure is set up to offer specialty insurance solutions for trade and trade-related investments across Africa with access to quality, best-in-breed specialty insurance that are tailor-made for Africa.
With credible knowledge of Africa, AfrexInsure will leverage on its risk expertise by using its continent-wide presence and deep understanding of the African market to provide solutions around cargo handling, construction, operations and energy - sectors critical for the growth and establishment of trade and investment intercontinentally.
Speaking during the launch, which took place on the sidelines of the meeting, Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, speaking on behalf of Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, said that AfrexInsure was established to facilitate the insurance of specialty risks in order to support businesses in Afreximbank member countries to mitigate the problem of Africa having to rely on external partners to architect the continent's economic resilience and development.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"By reducing the risk of transactions or investments, insurance can help drive forward business strategies for those engaged in intra-African trade and enable global partners to further their commercial interests and ambitions in Africa," Ms Awani said.
Insurance penetration is relatively low in Africa compared to other regions, she noted. AfrexInsure will, therefore, strengthen efforts to address this need in Africa and in partner states in the Caribbean. It will also help retain insurance premiums in Africa and assist in ploughing back Africa's investments into the continent for the enhancement of trade and economic development for the prosperity of the continent.
The launch also witnessed the unveiling of AfrexInsure's logo and brand identity under the slogan 'Insurance Optimised'.
