The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has signed a US$200mn syndicated Murabaha financing agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for the agricultural sector in the sub-Saharan Africa
The facility seeks to help African countries address some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This syndication is supported by number of partners and financial institutions who allocated resources to the agriculture sector in Africa.
The agreement, which is indicative of ITFC’s ongoing commitment to and trust in Africa, will finance the export of soft commodities, such as raw cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seeds and maize. The financing will provide critical support for the agriculture sector (the continent’s largest employer and a main driver of SME development) of 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Commenting on the Murabaha financing agreement, Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO at ITFC, said, “The financing of agricultural exports during these extremely challenging economic conditions will provide a lifeline to exporters affected by the impact that COVID-19 has had on the price of commodities.”
“Hundreds of millions of people in Africa rely on agriculture for employment and many countries’ food security rests on the smooth and affordable import and export of foodstuffs. We thank our financial partners for joining ITFC in this syndication, particularly for their unabated support in this turbulent time, to allocate resources for Africa. This new partnership with Afreximbank will go some way to supporting businesses and ordinary people as we navigate the coronavirus pandemic.”