The president and chairman of the board of directors of Afreximbank, Prof Benedict Oramah, has said Ghana’s support for Africa’s capital increase, launched in 2021 to address pandemic challenges confronting Africa, resulted in significant success for the continent.
Speaking at a media launch in Accra Tuesday (23 May), Prof Oramah said Afreximbank has been a major force in advancing economic integration in Africa and fostering intra-African trade and investment.
“It’s informed by the critical role that our Afreximbank has played over the last three decades in the promotion of economic integration in Africa through support for intra-African trade and investment.”
“It is obvious that those founding fathers of the bank who made the decision to set up the bank literally saw a vision. If it wasn’t for Afreximbank, I wonder how Africa would have been able to stand up and say they were able to acquire their own COVID-19 vaccine that Afreximbank supported the continent to acquire,” he said.
“Ghana was also one of the first countries to respond to the Afreximbank capital increase that was launched in late 2021. And Ghana did that despite the COVID-19 pandemic that was still raging at the time and associated financial and economic challenges. I dare say that the huge success we’ve seen with that capital increase owes a lot to the pioneering move of Ghana as the leader in putting its money where its mouth is,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Amin Adam, who also spoke at the launch, said access to trade and market information and a lack of funding are the key reasons for Africa’s poor trade performance.
He urged the continent to be supportive of Afreximbank.
“Today, Africa’s share of global trade is just about 3%. And intra-African trade is only 16%. Among the key reasons for this uninspiring trade performance is the lack of finance and access to trade and market information. In this respect, all Africans must be supportive of the Afreximbank, a bank that is set up to deliver just that and more.
“In the Afreximbank, we have an institution with convenient power and a network of resources to significantly contribute towards finding robust solutions to these challenges. This is an institution that has grown its assets from an initial US$5 billion to US$27.7 billion as of September 2022 in a net loan portfolio of US$20 billion to US$23 billion,” Amin Adam said.
The 30th anniversary and annual meeting of the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) will be held in Accra, Ghana.
The programme, the first to be held in Ghana and scheduled for 18-22 June 2023 is expected to be attended by more than 3,000 participants.
The three-day programme with the theme “Delivering the Vision: Creating Prosperity for Africans” will be held at the Accra International Conference Centre. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to open the three-day programme.
The Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade.
Reporting by Seeta Semenu in Accra
Asaase Radio 99.5 broadcasts on radio via 99.5 in Accra, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 100.3 in Cape Coast and on our affiliates Bawku FM 101.5 in Bawku, Beats FM 99.9 in Bimbilla, Somua FM 89.9 in Gushegu, Stone City 90.7 in Ho, Mining City 89.5 in Tarkwa and Wale FM 106.9 in Walewale
Tune in or log on to broadcasts online: www.asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
Live streaming: facebook.com/asaaseradio99.5. Also on YouTube: Asaase Radio Official.
Join the conversation. Call: 020 000 9951 or 059 415 7777. Or WhatsApp: 020 000 0995.
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand
#SafeMotorway4All
