CARICOM Development Fund Inks Memorandun of Understanding with Afreximbank
The CDF’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rodinald R. Soomer, and Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, signing the MoU documents recently. Looking on is Afreximbank’s President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, His Excellency Professor Benedict Oramah.
Bridgetown, Barbados, August 11, 2023 – The CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a framework for cooperation between the two organisations and assist with delivering services to the CARICOM Member States.
The CDF is the regional entity tasked with reducing the disparities among and within CARICOM Member States that are caused or exacerbated by economic shocks or dislocation that might result from implementing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Through the MoU, the CDF and Afreximbank have pledged to collaborate and explore the best possible funding options from debt and equity capital markets to support the development of critical infrastructure projects in the CARICOM region. The MoU is a clear indication of the collective effort of both organisations to increase financing opportunities for CARICOM Member States and strengthen south-south cooperation between the African continent and the Caribbean region.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CDF, Mr. Rodinald R. Soomer, and the Executive Vice President of the Intra-African Trade Bank of Afreximbank, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, signed the MoU on August 4, 2023, during a ceremony at the Hilton Barbados Resort to mark the official opening of Afreximbank’s Caribbean office in Barbados.
The CDF’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rodinald R. Soomer, and Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, congratulate each other on signing the new MoU.
Reflecting on the MoU, CEO Soomer said the Barbados-based CDF is keen to work with Afreximbank to facilitate the creation of new and exciting trade and investment opportunities for the private sector in the CARICOM region. He also urged regional small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of the generous capacity-building assistance offered by the bank, which can help them to scale up and expand their businesses.
‘As a recently established shareholder of Afreximbank, the CDF stands in partnership with the bank to assist with its newly minted regional operations. Specifically, we aim to do so by collaborating on transactions and projects that are aligned with the strategic objectives of the Africa-Caribbean Trade Initiative and by supporting client awareness of the services that will be offered to the Caribbean private sector to enable them to do business with Africa. This partnership and commitment of the CDF’s support are affirmed through the signing of the MoU between CDF and Afreximbank’, stated CEO Soomer.
In December 2022, the Board of Directors of Afreximbank approved funding worth 1.5 billion USD to aid CARICOM Member States in accessing the bank’s financing instruments. This funding will support SMEs and various economic sectors, such as renewable energy, tourism, and agriculture.
The CDF-Afreximbank MoU, which will be in effect for a period of three years in the first instance, is another crucial step towards further deepening the relationship between the Caribbean and Africa.
About the CARICOM Development Fund
The CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) (www.caricomdevelopmentfund.org), established in 2008, is a key developmental mechanism in the architecture of the CSME and is committed to achieving its vision to lead in providing effective, efficient, and sustainable solutions that address the challenges faced by disadvantaged communities, regions and sectors participating in the CSME. Its mission is to assist its member countries (namely, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago) maximise the benefits of participating in the CSME by reducing intra-regional disparities through effective partnerships and the provision of financial and technical assistance.
About Afreximbank
Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financing institution headquartered in Cairo, with over 50 member states. 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 industrialisation 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 10 billion USD adjustment fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA. During 2022, Afreximbank and CARICOM Member States entered a partnership agreement to expand Africa-Caribbean trade and investment relations, and Afreximbank’s Board of Directors approved 1.5 billion USD worth in funding to help CARICOM Member States in accessing the bank’s financing instruments to support SMEs and various economic sectors, such as renewable energy and tourism. To date, eight of the 11 CARICOM Member States that have signed the Afreximbank Partnership Agreement have also ratified it.
