• British International Investment and Deutsche Bank launch a $150 million facility to support trade finance across Africa.

• The program targets high-risk and underserved marketsand aims to reduce a $100 billion trade finance gap.

• The initiative will boost local banks’ lending capacity and support cross-border trade and industrial development.

British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, and Deutsche Bank have launched a $150 million program to strengthen trade finance in Africa. The partners announced the initiative on March 16.

The program targets markets that investors often consider high-risk or underserved. The initiative aims to reduce Africa’s trade finance gap, which Afreximbank estimates at about $100 billion annually. 

The program relies on a risk-sharing mechanism. This mechanism will support local banks in financing their clients’ trade operations. The structure will help reduce barriers to cross-border trade.

“This partnership strengthens our risk-sharing capacity and enhances our ability to facilitate sustainable cross-border transactions across the African market,”said Anand Jha, Global Head of Trade Finance for Financial Institutions at Deutsche Bank. He added, “By combining our global platform with BII’s development mandate and regional expertise, we aim to further stimulate trade flows to the continent.”

The program will prioritize economies such as Zambia, Ethiopia and Rwanda. The mechanism will provide local banks with additional financing capacity. This capacity will allow banks to extend more trade-related credit to businesses. The funds will help companies import raw materials and industrial equipment. 

These imports will support the development of local production chains and strengthen Africa’s industrial base. Many banks in the region face limited resources or struggle to secure guarantees for trade transactions. 

“Strengthening trade finance is essential to facilitate the flow of critical goods and raw materials across our markets and to support sustainable growth,” said Ndaba Mpofu, Managing Director and Head of Financial Services, Debt and Trade Finance at British International Investment. He added that expanding access to trade finance will help build a more resilient ecosystem and unlock new economic opportunities across Africa. 

According to Afreximbank, intra-African trade reached $208 billion in 2024, marking a 7.7% increase compared with 2023. The new financing program could help accelerate this momentum by easing liquidity constraints and improving access to credit.

This article was initially published in French by SG

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum