OPEC Fund extends US$80m loan to AFREXIMBANK to boost regional integration and international trade in Africa

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December 2, 2021: The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a US$80 million loan agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to finance international trade directly among corporates or through financial intermediaries.

The OPEC Fund’s support will assist in boosting Afreximbank’s liquidity to grow its loan portfolio as it finances exports and imports in critical sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and healthcare. The African continent is still facing challenges to access trade finance when compared to other parts of the world. The OPEC Fund’s loan will address this challenge, which are also impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

OPEC Fund Director General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “As a catalyst for economic development and growth, international trade is key to support Africa’s post COVID-19 recovery. We are pleased to cooperate with Afreximbank and to support their key initiative to make trade finance more accessible to African counterparties across the continent by reducing liquidity constraints.”

Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. The bank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa.

About the OPEC Fund 
The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) is the only globally mandated development institution that provides financing from member countries to non-member countries exclusively.  The organization works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international development community to stimulate economic growth and social progress in low- and middle-income countries around the world. The OPEC Fund was established by the member countries of OPEC in 1976 with a distinct purpose: to drive development, strengthen communities and empower people.  Our work is people-centered, focusing on financing projects that meet essential needs, such as food, energy, infrastructure, employment (particularly relating to MSMEs), clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education. To date, the OPEC Fund has committed more than US$22 billion to development projects in over 125 countries with an estimated total project cost of US$187 billion. Our vision is a world where sustainable development is a reality for all.