Afreximbank Announces Investment Conference in Kisumu, Kenya to Strengthen Sub-Sovereign Participation in Intra-African Trade

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In a bid to strengthen the role of Africa’s sub-sovereign governments in driving intra-African trade and investment, and the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com), in collaboration with the County Government of Kisumu and the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) is organising  the fourth edition of the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) Conference.

The Conference will take place in Kisumu City, Kenya, from 25 to 27 November, under the theme ‘Leveraging the AfCFTA for Sustainable Trade and Investment: A Development Pathway for African Sub-Sovereigns.’ A key feature of the event will be an exhibition aimed at promoting trade at a local level, to be preceded by an investment promotion training on the first day.

One of the key objectives of the conference is to foster greater collaboration in promoting trade, development and investment initiatives among African sub-sovereigns, aligned with AfCFTA’s goals.

Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President Intra African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank who will be speaking at the Investment Conference noted:

“Afreximbank partnered with the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF), an organ of the UCLG Africa under the AfSNET initiative to ensure its products and interventions for trade and investment promotion are accessible both at the local and sub-sovereign level. This resulted in the announcement of US$ 2 billion in financing to tackle the pressing financing challenges faced by sub-sovereigns and businesses.”

Mrs. Awani explained that Afreximbank will be leveraging the successes of the third AfSNET Investment Conference held during the Intra Africa Trade Fair (IATF2023) in

Cairo, Egypt offering sub-sovereign governments the opportunity to showcase investment projects to potential investors and financiers, further strengthening the Bank’s commitment to facilitating impactful investments across the continent.

While inviting delegates to participate in the forum, Kisumu County Governor H.E. Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o said:

“Africa’s economic renaissance is hinged on unbridling the developmental capacity of local governments and increasing decentralization. Despite the gains made in decentralization in recent decades, African local governments still have low administrative and fiscal capacity to realize the much-needed local economic development. AfSNET, an innovative tool of the Afreximbank, therefore comes in handy to bridge that gap and allow sub sovereigns to accelerate and improve the quality of economic growth in Africa. Its vision aligns with the aspirations of the African Sub Sovereigns umbrella organisation UCLG Africa to support  decentralised governments access and participation in continental and international financial markets while also supporting the development of their fiscal capacities. As the Governor of Kisumu, it gives me great pleasure to warmly invite all the delegates to come and interact and share in the social and cultural passion of Kisumu and to experience our boundless economic opportunities.”

Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General, United Cities and Local Governments of Africa while outlining UCLG’s mandate remarked:

“Among the mandates of UCLG Africa is to assist its members to attract investments in sub-national and local governments so as to improve the living conditions of the populations, economic activities and businesses established within their territories. UCLG Africa supports its members in adopting local economic development policies and strategies that investment plans derive from, and that gives impetus to public and private business development.”

 The fourth AfSNET conference will provide Kisumu County Government and the Lake Victoria region economic block an opportunity to present their development strategies and projects for consideration to investors attending the Conference.

The inaugural AfSNET conference, held in Durban, South Africa, on the margins of the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021) in 2021, attracted more than 80 delegates while the second, organised in collaboration with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in Abuja in September 2022, drew more than 150 delegates.

The third conference, co-hosted with UCLG Africa in November 2023 on the sidelines IATF2023 in Cairo, had more than 250 participants and resulted in deals valued at more than USD$1.5 billion being signed.

AfSNET was established by Afreximbank as a platform for promoting intra-African trade and investment, educational and cultural exchanges and the fostering of effective engagement among sub-sovereigns in Africa’s development and prosperity in the context of the AfCFTA.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. 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 industrialization 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 US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$6.1 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com

About UCLG Africa (UCLG Africa (United Cities and Local Governments of Africa):
The umbrella organization for African local governments, was founded in 2005 in the City of Tshwane, South Africa as a result of the unification of three continental groups of local governments, namely the African Union of Local Authorities (AULA); the Union des Villes Africaines (UVA); and the Africa Chapter of the União das Ciudades e Capitães Lusófonas Africanas, (UCCL AFRICA). The founding congress of the organization was held in May 2005 in the city of Tshwane, South Africa. UCLG Africa brings together 51 national associations of local and regional governments from all regions of Africa, as well as 2,000 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. UCLG Africa represents over 350 million African citizens. A founding member of the world organization UCLG, UCLG Africa is the regional representative for Africa with its headquarters based in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, where it enjoys diplomatic status as a Pan-African International Organization. It also has regional offices on the continent.

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