Afreximbank
President Prof. Benedict Oramah (right) and Herman
Nzoundo BigNoumba, CEO of CDC Gabon, in handshake after the signing
of the facility agreement in Cairo.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) today in Cairo signed an agreement granting an EUR 30 million revolving trade financing facility to Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Gabon (CDC Gabon) to support the operations of the tenants of the Gabon Special Economic Zone and to provide them with the capacity to export their products.
Under
the terms of the agreement, the facility will be used to finance the
working capital needs of eligible companies in the Gabon Special
Economic Zone to help them process timber and make it ready for
export.
Speaking
during the signing ceremony, Afreximbank President Prof.
Benedict Oramah said that the facility will indirectly support
the Special Economic Zone to succeed as the first and largest
industrial park in Gabon.
The
facility aligned with Afreximbank’s mandate by supporting
intra-African trade, and export development and industrialization, he
said, noting that most of the processed exports coming out of the
Special Economic Zone were directed at neighboring African countries,
ultimately strengthening regional economic integration.
“This
collaboration opens the potential for our two institutions to
strengthen our relationship and mutual cooperation in order to make
significant contributions towards unlocking the full potentials of
industrial parks and export processing zones and delivering the
much-needed developmental impact on our continent,” said President
Oramah.
Responding,
Herman Nzoundo BigNoumba, CEO of CDC Gabon, said that the facility
would reinforce Gabon’s capacity in wood processing by making it
possible to achieve first and second level processing, thereby moving
the country beyond merely being a logging nation.
It
would also support the government’s policy aimed at changing the
way wood was treated in the country, added Mr. BigNoumba.
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