The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $310 million trade finance loan for Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, parent company of the Ecobank Group.

AfDB said that the facility would provide critical trade finance funding to support economies in which Ecobank is present, primarily through support to SMEs and local companies involved in import-export activity.

The intervention comes at a time of falling commodity prices which have caused shortages in foreign exchange supply and led to unmet demand for trade finance instruments to support ongoing structural changes in the respective economies in Sub Saharan Africa.

“The project will help address critical market demand for trade finance and dollar liquidity by supporting vital economic sectors such as agribusiness, chemicals, construction, engineering, food processing, manufacturing and non-traditional exports,” the AfDB said.

“It will enhance support to local enterprises in Sub Saharan Africa, whose trading activities are being constrained by shortages in dollar funding. When fully utilised, including roll-overs, the interventions are expected to facilitate circa $2 billion of trade over a three and a half-year period,” the Bank added.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is registered and headquartered in Lomé, Togo, as a pan-African bank holding company. It has presence in 36 African countries, and has representative offices in Beijing, Dubai, Paris and London. ETI’s shares are listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange, the Nigeria Stock Exchange and the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) serving countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).