<img alt="Daba Finance/Absa secures $150 million from UK BII to boost trade finance for African SMEs” fetchpriority=”high” width=”466″ height=”720″ decoding=”async” data-nimg=”1″ style=”color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(“data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg src=’http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg’ viewBox=’0 0 466 720’%3E%3Cfilter id=’b’ color-interpolation-filters=’sRGB’%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation=’20’/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage preserveAspectRatio=’none’ filter=’url(%23b)’ x=’0′ y=’0′ height=’100%25′ width=’100%25′ href=’data:image/png;base64,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’/%3E%3C/svg%3E”)” bad-src=”https://investor-updates-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/daba-finance-invest-africa-1730133332090-Absa.PNG”/>
BREAKING NEWSOctober 28, 2024 at 4:35 PM UTC
TLDR
- Absa Group is partnering with British International Investment (BII) to establish a $150 million trade finance facility for African SMEs in the agriculture and healthcare sectors.
- This partnership aims to close Africa’s trade finance gap, which is between $100 billion and $120 billion and affected by COVID-19, the Ukraine conflict and supply chain disruptions.
- The collaboration between Absa and BII facilitates cross-border trade, supporting trade volumes of over $1 billion in countries including Nigeria and Kenya over the past five years.
Absa Group, a leading South African bank, has secured a $150 million trade finance facility with British International Investment (BII) to support African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sectors , health and other sectors.
This partnership aims to close Africa’s trade finance gap, estimated at between $100 billion and $120 billion, a challenge intensified by COVID-19, the Ukraine conflict and regional supply chain disruptions. The funds will provide essential liquidity to SMEs across the continent, facilitating cross-border trade.
Absa’s Mosa Tshabalala noted that the partnership with BII has supported trade volumes of over $1 billion in countries like Nigeria and Kenya over the past five years. The current $150 million facility is aimed at markets with significant trade finance needs but limited access to trade finance.
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Key takeaways
The trade finance gap in Africa hampers the growth and economic integration of SMEs due to limited access to affordable cross-border funds. Development finance institutions such as BII play a crucial role in filling the financing gaps left by commercial banks. Trade finance supports essential cross-border transactions by covering shipping, insurance and raw material costs, allowing businesses to operate despite cash flow constraints. Absa’s regional presence in 12 African countries, coupled with support from BII, allows the lender to expand its reach in high-demand regions, enabling SMEs to grow and compete internationally. As Absa and BII explore more targeted initiatives, this partnership could help drive sustainable trade development across Africa.
