CDC Trade Finance quarterly update
CDC’s Trade Finance programme is playing a key role in shoring up critical access to trade finance to help combat the economic effect of Covid-19 in Africa and South Asia.
In Q2, CDC the UK’s impact investor and development finance institution has:
- Provided over US $600m of trade finance, supporting 160 business in Africa and South Asia.
- Supported our partner banks to complete 370 transactions, enabling banks to sustain supply chains by increasing their lending to local businesses.
- Supported over US $304 million of trade flows in the food and agricultural sector, helping to ensure food security for millions of families impacted by Covid-19.
- Completed three new transactions with leading African banks, Absa and Société Générale totalling $225 million.
CDC’s Director of Trade and Supply Chain Finance, Admir Imami said:
“Our trade finance programme has significant momentum in the fight against Covid-19 with over $600 million provided in Q2 2020. This supported over 160 businesses, providing with them with reliable access to finance to stabilise their operations during the pandemic.
We also made three new commitments to our partner banks Absa and Société Générale. We continue to inject systemic liquidity into our network of local banks and support local supply chains during the crisis.
This pandemic has presented serious food security challenges in our markets. To help distribute food supplies such as sugar to millions of people, CDC recently supported over US $304 million of trade flows in the food and agricultural sector.”
Since the programme’s inception in 2015, CDC has guaranteed US$3.6bn, which has resulted in US$13.2bn of trade across our markets in Africa and South Asia. Through these banks CDC helps to strengthen financial markets, support thousands of businesses with vital capital for growth, and underpin the import and export of essential commodities.
Trade finance is a key pillar in CDC’s response to Covid-19 and it is prioritising trade flows that support the global fight against this pandemic. The firm aims to strengthen markets by injecting systemic liquidity across its existing network of banks and financial intermediaries. CDC is also bolstering current banking partnerships to enable them to reach even more businesses, as many banks consider reducing trade finance availability across its markets.
CDC’s Head of Trade Finance Admir Imami talks to Global Trade Review about a DFI’s response to Covid, read it here.
Read more about CDC’s response to Covid-19 here.
