The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Republic of Rwanda, in Cairo, recently signed key documents related to the establishment of the Fund for Export-Development in Africa (FEDA), a development-oriented subsidiary of Afreximbank.
The settlement agreement and the memorandum of understanding were signed by Alfred Kalisa, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda in Egypt, and Afreximbank’s President, prof. Benedict Oramah, in the presence of Mahamadou Labarang, Dean of the African Ambassadors to Cairo and FEDA CEO Dr Philip Kamau.
The settlement agreement creates FEDA, while the headquarters agreement stipulates that the Republic of Rwanda will be headquartered.
FEDA was established by Afreximbank to facilitate foreign direct investment flows to Africa’s trade and export sectors and to finance the $ 110 billion – a year gap in equities in export – related sectors.
Kalisa said: “The Government of Rwanda is pleased to have signed these key agreements with Afreximbank. Rwanda is pleased to present FEDA as we work together to achieve the dreams of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACfTA) on the continent. We will work together to ensure that FEDA succeeds in managing and achieving its mandate. ‘
FEDA aims to finance equities in key industries and sectors, to significantly increase the likelihood of success in implementing Afreximbank’s development priorities and to achieve the Bank’s strategic objectives under the pillars of the intra-African Trading Strategy. and Industrialization and Export Development. Strategy.
For his part, Oramah said: “FEDA is a new vehicle created to address the permanent problem of capital restrictions for private sector development and industrialization in Africa. Afreximbank already has more than $ 350 million in the Fund commitments, including commitments for the operation of a Credit Fund, investments in the strategic initiatives of the Bank and investments used under limited partnership frameworks.
“I would like to thank Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda and his Government for accepting the strategic essence of this institution for both Rwanda and Africa. Agreeing to present FEDA without any ambiguity is a clear and courageous declaration of visionary leadership and recognition of the economic value of Pan-African institutions. ‘
The FEDA has the task of providing capital to enterprises in the financial services, technology consumer and retail goods, tourism, manufacturing, transport, logistics and warehouses, and infrastructure that enables trade, for example industrial parks, agribusiness and education sectors in Afreximbank’s member countries . FEDA will invest in all market segments, but with a greater focus on SMEs that have a large funding deficit and represent around 90% of the businesses in Africa. It will also invest in mature companies and start-ups where there is a gap in the market and where investments have a high level of value addition and development impact in Africa.