ITFC Chief Executive Officer Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol and Minister of Economy, Finance and Development of Burkina Faso Hadizatou Rosine Coulibaly Sori sign the framework agreement
Photo: ITFC

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has announced several major initiatives during a special event sponsored by ITFC at the 5th edition of the Rebranding Africa Forum (RAF) being held in Burkina Faso from 5-6 October.

The high-level event was attended by several African Heads of States as well as ministers and dignitaries from the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region including the President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Minister of Economy, Finance and Development of Burkina Faso, Hadizatou Rosine Coulibaly Sori, amongst others.

The first announcement was for a US$1.5 Billion Framework Agreement between the Government of Burkina Faso and ITFC.

As part of the agreement, ITFC will contribute to mobilizing financial resources to finance the export of agricultural commodities such as cotton and the import of agricultural inputs and foodstuff, as well as energy commodities such as crude oil and refined petroleum products.

It will also finance the extension of lines of financing to local banks to support local SMEs and the implementation of capacity building programs for the strategic sectors of the national economy.

Speaking during the occasion, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, ITFC Chief Executive Officer, said, “Burkina Faso is ITFC’s top beneficiary in Sub-Saharan Africa and we have since forged a solid relationship with the Government to create an exemplary portfolio of operations that we can replicate in other countries.

“Our financing will no doubt go a long way in complementing the IsDB Group support for the country covering many sectors necessary for the country’s national development. The unique nature of our intervention remains as the integrated approach we adopt entails both trade financing and trade capacity development.”

Eng Sonbol and the chairman of Coris Bank International Idrissa Nassa sign an agreement to launch West Africa SMEs Program
Photo: ITFC

The second announcement was the launch of the West Africa Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Program aimed at improving access to trade finance for SMEs in eight West African countries.

The program has been designed to bridge the substantial trade finance gap at the SME level within the region by providing financing lines, capacity building and advisory services to partner banks and SMEs in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) nations, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. A pilot project will be implemented in Burkina Faso followed by Senegal.

With a vision to be the bank of reference for SMEs and SMIs in Africa, and a strong presence in seven WAEMU nations, Coris Bank International (CBI SA), has been selected by ITFC as the pilot bank to implement the West Africa SME Program.

This program will consist of the deployment of assistance to CBI SA to adapt and modernize its tools and its lending processes to further increase access to credit for SMEs. The program will also support SMES through capacity development with the aim to increase their bankability.

“The program was designed to support the West African SME sector by creating integration between business development and trade finance. As the backbone of the region’s emerging economy, these SMEs require improved access to finance now more than ever, and Islamic trade finance has a significant role to play. We are confident that the program will help enhance the utilization of trade finance instruments placed at West African banks for SMEs”, said Eng. Sonbol.

In addition to CBI SA, key partners in the implementation of the West Africa SMEs Program include SMEs support institutions as well as various content providers for modules and tools and implementing agencies.

African Press Organization