African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has partnered with Sterling Bank to introduce the innovative supply chain finance product ‘Payables Finance’, in Nigeria.
This product, branded as ‘Afreximbank Tradelink,’ is one of Afreximbank’s digital offerings under the umbrella of the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG).
ATG provides African corporate and commercial banks with relevant digital tools to access market information, connect with buyers and sellers across the continent for efficient marketing and procurement, facilitate Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, and promote trade payments between African countries in local currencies.
The partnership with Sterling Bank is a unique and innovative arrangement which leverages the complementary strengths of both institutions to provide a comprehensive market-led solution to Nigerian corporate and their suppliers.
Under the arrangement, Afreximbank will provide financing to corporate and banks in both US Dollars and Euros while Sterling Bank will manage financing in naira. Suppliers of Nigerian corporate can thus benefit from financing in both local and foreign currency as per their requirements.
The Executive Vice President of Afreximbank Global Trade Bank,Haytham ElMaayergi, described the launch as another milestone in realising the bank’s vision of transforming Africa’s trade.
He said: “Afreximbank identified supply chain finance as a solution for improving access to trade finance in Africa and embarked on a journey to increase penetration through financial intervention and capacity building. Its Factoring Working Group has done extremely well to provide lines of credit to support factoring and has actively promoted factoring across the continent in collaboration with other institutions.”
He added that the introduction of Payables Finance is the next step on the bank’s roadmap for supply chain finance across Africa.
“African businesses now have the opportunity to harness the potential of this product, which has been widely adopted globally, at an accelerated pace by learning from the experiences of other regions and using the latest technologies which have been developed,” he explained.
Commenting on the partnership, Director & Global Head Trade Finance, Afreximbank, Gwen Mwaba, said: “The launch in Nigeria is a first step in Afreximbank’s plans to introduce Payables Finance across Africa in partnership with leading African financial institutions.
“The product, which will deploy world class technology and a collaborative delivery model, will contribute towards achievement of the bank’s strategic objective of reducing the trade finance gap in Africa, particularly for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment.” he said.
The Ecosystem Banking Head at Sterling Bank, ChukwukaOnuaguluchi, said: “Sterling Bank is committed to meeting the trade finance needs of Nigerian corporate and their suppliers and we are proud to introduce this much-needed product in partnership with Afreximbank for the benefit of Nigerian businesses.”
