GTR East Africa - Trade and export finance conference

Ahead of the GTR East Africa trade and export finance conference in #Nairobi last week, GTR in collaboration with PANGEA-RISK, hosted a Future-Proofing Trade Finance networking reception for women and young professionals. Robert Besseling (Founder and CEO at PANGEA-RISK) and Ahanna Anaba (Head of Sales & Partnerships at Finverity), shared insight into how companies on the African continent can play a critical role in developing skilled human capital and supporting the aspirations of youth. East Africa, as Africa's fastest-growing region, will play an especially critical role in determining and shaping the future of the region. Although East Africa's youth are increasingly attaining higher educational levels, more than half of East African youth are unemployed. #Employment among university graduates ranges from a low 28 to 38 percent and women face higher rates of unemployment compared to men. With over 60 in attendance, the exclusive event provided ample networking opportunities with female industry leaders and aspiring young professionals. We look forward to hosting our next networking reception with Pangea-Risk for women and young professionals from across trade finance and financial services in #Singapore later this year! Visit gtreview.com/gtrasia for more event details. #GTREastAfrica #GTRWiTF #GTRFPTF #WomeninTrade #TradeFinanceWomen #YoungProfessionals #TradeProfessional

There is still time to enter the GTR MEA Awards! Are you the best trade finance bank in the #MiddleEast and/or #Africa? If so, we invite you to participate in the prestigious GTR MEA Awards, which recognise the top #tradefinance #banks in these regions. To be considered for this accolade, simply download our media kit below and submit your entries highlighting your recent achievements to [email protected] ⏰Submissions deadline: This Friday, May 31! Winners will be notified in early May. The complete list of awardees will be featured on the GTR website and in the upcoming issue of GTR MEA, set to launch this August. We look forward to receiving your submissions and wish you the best of luck! #GTRMEAAwards #TradeFinance #Banks

Economic and financial market conditions have hardened rapidly since the turn of the decade, with the role of development finance institutions in mitigating negative impacts on Africa’s trade finance markets remaining critical. Instrumental support for extant trade and financing flows has extended to key digitisation and local currency finance initiatives aimed at future-proofing industrialisation, economic diversification and intra-regional trade growth across the continent.   At GTR East Africa in #Nairobi, Kudakwashe MATEREKE (Regional Chief Operating Officer for East Africa, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) offered analysis focusing on reinforcing trade finance resilience in a volatile business environment. Delegates heard about the challenges facing East Africa's trade finance sector and how those operating within the region can access and utilise Afreximbank support. Thank you to those who joined us in #Nairobi. Follow gtreview.com and the event conversations at https://lnkd.in/evD998ac #GTREastAfrica

International bond markets remain a challenging space for Africa’s sovereign borrowers, with Kenya’s commitment to repurchasing as much as $1.44 billion of bonds in 2024 through the issuance of a double digit yield Eurobond earlier this year a clear indication. With this primary source of infrastructure financing currently beyond the reach of many sovereigns, demand looks set to outstrip supply. 💭 How can the local insurance market play a role in filling these gaps? Robert Besseling (PANGEA-RISK), Genevieve Ahinful (Africa Specialty Risks), Surabhi Visser (GuarantCo), Albert Rweyemamu (ATIDI - African Trade & Investment Development Insurance ) and Sekete Mokgehle (Nedbank) assessed the extent to which this sector can meet infrastructure financing demand across the region, identifying where gaps are likely to remain, and the potential of DFI support and local currency transactions to maintain the project pipeline. Thank you to those who joined us at GTR East Africa in #Nairobi. Follow gtreview.com and the event conversations at https://lnkd.in/evD998ac

While uptake of SCF remains nascent across #Africa in comparison to more established SCF markets globally, a core of banks, financing and technology providers continue to pursue the critical mass that holds transformational potential for African trade, and in particular the financing of those SME suppliers in the ‘long tail’ of the supply chain. At GTR East Africa in #Nairobi, experts John Kinyangi (Standard Bank Group), Oluwole Ajiboye (Guinness Nigeria), Allan Musona (Raindew Trade ), Amine D. (Wasoko), Patrick Makau (Standard Chartered) and Annerose Ngemu (African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) discussed overcoming barriers to adoption, the regulatory environment as relates to both financing and data regulatory challenges, tackling the issue of mistrust around data sharing and misconceptions of data insecurity, and the role of digital platforms. Thank you to those who joined us for this insightful conversation. Follow gtreview.com and the event conversations at https://lnkd.in/evD998ac #GTREastAfrica #SupplyChainFinance

Sreejith Nair (Veefin) explored the power of digital solutions in revolutionising trade finance efficiency, showcasing an end-to-end product stack that seamlessly digitises onboarding, multi-facility underwriting using a low-code platform, and SCF loan management, allowing lenders to rely on a single technology provider for an out-of-the-box solution. Thank you to those who joined us at GTR East Africa in #Nairobi to discover the advantages of #digitisation for East African markets. Join the event discussion by using #GTREastAfrica and follow the GTR East Africa showcase page for event announcements: https://lnkd.in/ezVBMX-E

Set against a geopolitical landscape that already poses a severe food security issue to the continent, El Niño is expected to further compound an acute challenge. Humanitarian initiatives have established agricultural supply chains capable of mitigating the worst effects, while the private agribusiness and finance sectors continue to build climate resilience into agri value chains through the deployment of innovative technology. During GTR East Africa in #Nairobi, Zhann Meyer (Nedbank), Florian Wicht (IFC - International Finance Corporation), Wouter Marinus Kool (Rabobank), Abhishek Jain (ETG) and BaiMankay SANKOH sankoh (UN World Food Programme (WFP) Namibia), considered the primary climate risks faced across Africa’s agribusiness sector, how they can be mitigated to enhance financing, and how private sector expertise can be leveraged to combat humanitarian crises on the continent. Thank you to everyone who participated in GTR East Africa, the leading forum for critical discussions on the region's #trade, #commodity and #infrastructure #financing markets.   Follow gtreview.com and the event conversations at https://lnkd.in/evD998ac   #EastAfricaTrade #TradeFinance #ExportFinance #GTREastAfrica

With the causes of Africa’s growing trade finance gap now well established the leading minds on the continent have turned to practical, scalable solutions capable of addressing a problem that is hugely detrimental to prospects for Africa’s SDG-aligned economic diversification and growth. George RR Wilson (Head, Institutional Trade Finance, Investec; Chair of Africa Regional Committee, ITFA) highlighted the critical role of local #banking sectors in providing #tradefinance to the African #SMEs that will ultimately drive growth. Thank you to those who joined us at GTR East Africa in #Nairobi and explored practical strategies for strengthening local institutions and fostering economic diversification. Follow gtreview.com and the event conversations at https://lnkd.in/evD998ac   #EastAfricaTrade #TradeFinance #ExportFinance #GTREastAfrica

Dollar shortages continue to drag on East Africa’s financial sector. MSMEs continue to feel the effects most acutely, with anticipated increase of regulatory fees on banks and microfinance institutions across Kenya set to compound the disadvantages African trade finance already faces due to global financial regulation. What can be done to ensure critical liquidity continues to flow into local banking and corporate sectors, and is trade finance up to the task? During GTR East Africa in Nairobi, financing and tech experts, Simon Cook (Sullivan & Worcester LL), Grace Murage (RMB - Rand Merchant Bank), Duarte Pedreira (Crown Agents Bank; ITFA), Carol Kihuna (Citi) and Freddie Tucker (British International Investment), shared their take on the root causes of these shortages across the region, and how these feed into trade financing challenges faced at industry and company level. GTR would like to extend our gratitude to everyone participating in GTR East Africa, the leading forum for critical discussions on the region's #trade, #commodity and #infrastructure #financing markets.   Follow gtreview.com and the event conversations at https://lnkd.in/evD998ac   #EastAfricaTrade #TradeFinance #CommodityFinance #GTREastAfrica

Regional economies find themselves subject to an evolving and highly unpredictable set of external influences, from the impact of sovereign debt sustainability concerns, FX volatility and inflationary pressures, an expanding raft of ESG regulations and the associated climate financing priorities, to ongoing supply chain disruption, and multipolar global geopolitics. Experts Nazanine Moshiri (International Crisis Group), Allen Sophia Asiimwe (TradeMark Africa), Beverly Ochieng (BBC Monitoring), Felister Kivisi (Trade and Development Bank Group - TDB Group), Shuichi Hayashida (MIGA) and Ramesh M D (Africa Improved Foods) at GTR East Africa in Nairobi shared the primary trends, risks and bright spots related to economic development and trade growth across the region. The panel sharing perspectives on the initiatives that could open trade growth and financing opportunities, bolstering the resilience of crucial industry sectors and companies of all sizes. Thank you to all those who join us at the premier platform for essential conversation on the region’s trade, commodity, and infrastructure financing markets – GTR East Africa. Follow gtreview.com and the event conversations at https://lnkd.in/evD998ac #EastAfricaTrade #TradeFinance #ExportFinance #GTREastAfrica