The China Development Bank (CDB) entered into a $400-million financing deal with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Monday to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.
The deal, signed by Tan Jiong, President of CDB, and Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, at the Afreximbank Headquarters in Cairo, provides for Afreximbank to deploy the facility to support African SMEs involved in extra- and intra-African trade and those engaged in the productive sectors in Afreximbank Member States.
According to the agreement, the facility has a seven-year tenor, and will be deployed either directly to eligible African SMEs that meet Afreximbank’s requirements or indirectly through local financial intermediaries.
Prof. Oramah said that African SMEs continue to struggle to access adequate and affordable financing for growing their businesses and said that the CDB facility would help increase the level of financing available to them.
“This facility further strengthens the strategic partnership we have developed with the China Development Bank over the last six years, which has seen CDB make three previous interventions in support of our work at Afreximbank.
“It will also enable our two institutions to achieve our respective mandates and developmental outcomes, which include job creation, increased economic activity and increased extra-African trade with China,” said President Oramah.
Afreximbank was receiving the facility as medium to long-term funding at relatively affordable pricing, the Bank would transfer the financial advantage in pricing and tenor to the end beneficiaries.