(FEDA) - The Fund for Export Development in Africa (“FEDA”), Afreximbank’s impact investment subsidiary, has announced its investment into Bloom Africa Holdings Limited (BAHL), a regional financial services platform operating across West Africa.

BAHL holds interests in multiple financial institutions across Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Liberia operating as Bloom Bank Africa. These institutions function as full-service commercial banks and provide a comprehensive range of services to a diverse clientele ranging from retail and corporate customers to SMEs and the public sector. BAHL extends tailored banking services, whilst promoting financial inclusion and trade through innovative outreach programs and accessible products.

FEDA’s investments aim to bolster BAHL’s expansion efforts within the financial services sector. This investment will support BAHL’s growth initiatives, enabling the company to enhance its platform and services across West Africa. Through this partnership, FEDA is contributing to the development and strengthening of the financial services landscape in the region, fostering economic growth and innovation.

Gabriel Edgal, Director of BAHL as well as Group CEO and Chairman of Oakwood Green Africa, an associate company of BAHL commented, “We are delighted with the completion of this transaction which expands the strategic partnership forged with Afreximbank and FEDA in recent years. FEDA’s investment will strengthen our activities in Gambia and our aim to replicate this success in other countries.”

Marlène Ngoyi (photo), CEO of FEDA, commented, “We are pleased to embark on this growth journey with BAHL with the aim of supporting the group’s geographical expansion. The transaction is the culmination of years of strategic partnerships in which BAHL has taken an active role in implementing key Afreximbank initiatives such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and MANSA (a pan-African customer due diligence repository for financial institutions). The growth of BAHL will go hand in hand with the advancement of these initiatives.”

About FEDA

The Fund for Export Development in Africa (“FEDA”) is the impact investment subsidiary of Afreximbank set up to provide equity, quasi-equity, and debt capital to finance the multi-billion-dollar funding gap (particularly in equity) needed to transform the Trade sector in Africa. FEDA pursues a multi-sector investment strategy along the intra-African trade, value-added export development, and manufacturing value chain which includes financial services, technology, consumer and retail goods, manufacturing, transport & logistics, agribusiness, as well as ancillary trade enabling infrastructure such as industrial parks.

About Afreximbank

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$6.1 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$104 billion between 2016 and 2023. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure, (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com