Afreximbank receives accolades for role in fight against COVID-19 in Africa

 The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has received commendation for its role in the fight against the COVID-19 in Africa.

According to a statement issued by the bank on Friday in Cairo, Egypt, the commendation is by the Global Trade Review (GTR), as a leader in Trade for Pandemic Support.

The statement said it was also ranked by the 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.

It noted that these recognitions were as a result of the bank’s swift action at the beginning of the pandemic.

The bank had launched its Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation facility (PATIMFA) in March 2020 and the 1.5 billion dollars collaborative COVID-19 Pandemic Response Facility (COPREFA) in November 2020.

It said that the GTR, a world-class independent publishing and events company for companies and individuals involved in global trade, recognised Afreximbank’s quick action to curb the impact of the pandemic.

”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.

”Meanwhile COPREFA supported African economies to weather commodity price shocks and procurement of medical supplies.

”GTR notes that 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,” it said.

It said that the bank was also recognised for setting up COPREFA alongside the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and the Arab Bank for Economic Development.

The statement said that Global Finance Magazine’s ranking was due to the bank’s  swift action in supporting member countries brace up for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It said that the magazine noted that Afreximbank activated its business continuity management plan within days of the pandemic to prevent service interruptions.

According to the statement, the magazine also recognised that PATIMFA was essential to help countries, disbursing over 6.5 billion dollars to date.

Afreximbank is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade.