BMCE Bank International Plc UK and IFC announced on Thursday a partnership designed to support cross-border trade in Africa.
This agreement comes as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed Africa into its first economic recession in 25 years, hindered trade, and the continent’s imports fell by 16 percent in 2020, according to World Trade Organization.
The International Finance Corporation will establish a risk-sharing mechanism with BMCE Bank International Plc UK, the leading regional bank of the Moroccan Bank for Foreign Trade in Africa, to enable it to increase the financing it provides to importers and exporters.
The risk-sharing mechanism will cover 50 percent of the losses of all outstanding loans granted by BMCE Bank International Plc UK, with a total portfolio of USD150 million.
Houssam El Hak Morssi Barakat, CEO of BMCE International Plc UK said, ‘We are very delighted to close this agreement with IFC. Origination and distribution are key to our business model, and thanks to privileged partners like IFC we will be serving our international and African customers by bridging the trade finance gap between Europe and Africa with a sustainable finance impact.’
IFC will contribute USD75 million to this risk-sharing mechanism, which will serve financial institutions operating in 20 African countries, including six fragile and conflict-affected countries.
‘The pandemic has disrupted exports and imports of goods, but it is necessary for the latter to cross borders in order to allow companies to operate, for families to earn a living, and also to preserve on people’s livelihoods,” said the Director of the International Finance Corporation’s Group of Financial Institutions for Africa, Manuel Reyes Ritana,
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