The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (www.ITFC-IDB.org), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, has signed a US$200 million Mourabaha financing agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a financial institution multilateral era created by African governments and institutional investors. ITFC and its financial partners have allocated these resources to support African exporters, with the aim of supporting the continent in coping with some of the economic impacts of the pandemic.

This agreement, which demonstrates ITFC's commitment and enduring confidence in Africa, will finance the export of commodities such as cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seeds and maize. This funding will provide essential support to the agricultural sector for nearly 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The agricultural sector in Africa is the continent's largest employer and a key driver of SME development.

Commenting this agreement, MR. Hani Salem Sonbol, Director General of the ITFC, said: "Financing agricultural exports in these extremely difficult economic conditions is a lifeline for exporters affected by the impact of COVID-19 on commodity prices. Hundreds of millions of people in Africa depend on agriculture and food security in many countries depends on the import and export of food. We thank our financial partners for joining the ITFC in this process and in particular for their unwavering support in this time of crisis. This new partnership with Afreximbank will help support businesses and citizens in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic."

Africa has been a priority region for itfc since its inception in 2008, mandated to meet the development and economic needs of the continent's member countries. In 2019, ITFC disbursed nearly US$2.38 billion to help the region address its major development challenges. In total, since 2008 the ITFC has disbursed nearly US$15.6 billion to the OIC member countries of the region, enabling them to be supported in their economic growth, job creation and integration into the value chains of key export sectors such as agriculture, energy and industry.

It should be noted that the ITFC partnered with Afreximbank for the first time in 2017 with the signing of a US$100 million agreement to facilitate and finance exports between African countries and between Africa and the rest of the world. Afreximbank is also a strategic partner of the Arab-African Trade Bridges Program (AATB) launched by the ITFC, a program with a mandate to strengthen economic integration between the African and Arab regions and foster the development of SME exports in priority sectors.

Digregated by APO Group for International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).

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About the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC):
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (www.ITFC-IDB.org) is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. Its purpose is to advance trade among OIC Member Countries, ultimately contributing to its priority objective of improving the socio-economic conditions of people around the world. Starting operations in January 2008, itfc has provided more than $51 billion to finance trade in OIC Member Countries, making the Corporation the leading provider of trade solutions to meet the needs of OIC Member Countries. By acting as a catalyst for trade development among OIC Member Countries and beyond, the Corporation facilitates easier access to trade credit for entities of Member Countries and provides them with the tools to strengthen their trade capacity. which allows them to be competitive on the international market.

Afreximbank:
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) is a pan-African multilateral financial institution dedicated to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. Afreximbank was established in October 1993 and is owned by African governments, the African Development Bank (AfDB), African private and institutional investors, and non-African public and private investors. The Bank was established under two basic governing documents, namely the Agreement signed by the Member States, which confers on it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, initialled by the shareholders, which governs its structure and functioning. Afreximbank deploys innovative structures to provide financing solutions that drive the transformation of The African trade structure and accelerate industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby supporting economic expansion in Africa. As of December 31, 2019, the Bank's total assets and guarantees stood at US$15.5 billion.  and its shareholders' funds amounted to US$2.8 billion. Voted "African Bank of the Year " in 2019, Afreximbank disbursed more than US$31 billion between 2016 and 2019. Afreximbank is rated A- by GCR International Scale, Baa1 by Moody's and BBB- by Fitch. The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.