By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has been recognized by Global Trade Review (GTR) as Leader in Trade for Pandemic Support and ranked by Global Finance Magazine, in its annual World’s Best Investment Bank’s list 2021, as the best bank offering Crisis Finance Solutions in Africa in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
These recognitions, according to a statement by the Bank on Friday were as a result of Afreximbank’s swift action at the beginning of the pandemic when the Bank launched its Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation facility (PATIMFA) in March 2020 and the US$1.5bn Collaborative Covid-19 Pandemic Response Facility (Coprefa) in November 2020.
PATIMFA played a key role in supporting Afreximbank’s member countries to mitigate and manage the financial, economic and health effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the continent, while COPREFA supported African economies to weather commodity price shocks and procurement of medical supplies.
The Global Trade Review (GTR), a world-class independent publishing and events company for companies and individuals involved in global trade, recognized Afreximbank’s quick action to curb the impact of the pandemic.
GTR notes that the Afreximbank facilities helped countries battle the detrimental economic and health effects of the pandemic, giving them funding for the procurement of healthcare goods, food and agricultural inputs.
The Bank was also recognized for setting up the US$1.5bn Collaborative Covid-19 Pandemic Response Facility (Coprefa) alongside the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and the Arab Bank for Economic Development.
Global Finance Magazine named Afreximbank as the continent’s best bank offering Crisis Finance Solutions on its list of World’s Best Investment Bank’s 2021.
This was due to the swift action in supporting member countries brace for the impact of COVID-19 and the magazine noted that Afreximbank activated its business continuity management plan within days of the pandemic to prevent service interruptions. It also noted that PATIMFA was essential to help countries, disbursing over $6.5 billion to date.
