Although banks support one third of Africa’s trade, the trade finance gap is still in excess of US$90 billion annually. This according to Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), who said that despite the long-held view that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were the most significant contributors to African economies, they accounted for just over a quarter of banks’ trade finance assets. Adesina said that Africa had yet to fully capture the growth-enhancing benefits of trade. “Today the continent’s share of global gross domestic product and trade stand at only 3%, yet Africa accounts for 11% of the world’s population.” He said that this could be corrected if political leaders and business worked to remove the constraints to trade. For Africa to improve its competitiveness, raise productivity, and achieve robust and inclusive growth, it is essential that African countries become more integrated into the global economy and have a strong and well diversified export base. “For this to happen, trade finance must be genuinely accessible and affordable to those who need it,” Adesina commented, noting that the AfDB had been working hard to address this.
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Trade finance must be genuinely accessible and affordable to those who need it. – Akinwumi Adesina
