African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the SADC Business Council (SADC BC) have inaugurated the SADC-Africa Trade and Investment Marketplace.
It aims to promote regional trade, unlock investment opportunities, deepen economic cooperation, and drive sustainable business growth between the SADC region and the rest of Africa.
According to the bank, the market would give the SADC region’s private sector a platform to encourage greater levels of engagement in trade and investment-related issues with the rest of Africa.
The next edition of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair, which is scheduled for November 21–27, 2023 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, as well as digital platforms like the Trade Information Portal, Trade Regulatory Information Portal, and the African Trade Exchange, among others, will all be used by Afreximbank to make trade and market information accessible to the private sector in SADC.
Further, Afreximbank will implement a range of its financing instruments and trade facilitation initiatives to advance intra-African trade and investment under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Afreximbank Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, said: “We are delighted at the launch of the SADC – Africa Trade and Investment Marketplace which will play a pivotal role in promoting the SADC industrialisation agenda and facilitating business to business exchanges aimed at increasing the volume of trade and investment between SADC and the rest of Africa under the AfCFTA. Afreximbank remains committed to supporting the trade and investment agreements and deals generated from the SADC – Africa Trade and Investment Marketplace.”
As a prime public sector partner in forging SADC’s development and integration, SADC BC is committed to promoting sustainable growth of businesses in the region.
Executive Secretary, SADC Business Council, Mr. Peter Varndell, said: “Greater regional integration of the private sector is paramount to boost intra-African trade, strengthen the complementarities of production and exports and create employment. I encourage the private sector to explore this marketplace fully, to actively engage in productive dialogue, to share their experiences, to collaborate and develop innovative ways to advance SADC’s economic relationship with Africa for the benefit of all our citizens.”
The SADC-Africa Trade and Investment Marketplace was inaugurated during the Sixth yearly SADC Industrialisation Week (SIW) held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The SIW is a platform for public-private collaboration designed to open up new avenues for intra-African trade and investment. As a SIW partner, Afreximbank places a high value on regional economic integration and is extremely optimistic about the potential for improved trade ties in Africa.
The SADC BC is a regional apex body for the SADC private sector. It represents national and regional apex business associations of the 16 SADC member states.
