The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Mr Sihle Zikalala, MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube, Deputy Mayor of EThikwini Ms Belinda Scott, ladies and gentlemen.

Sawubona unjani ?  (translation: Hello how are you doing)

Permit me to seize this opportunity to express on behalf of the President of the African Export-Import Bank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, our most profound gratitude for honouring our invitation to participate in the 2019 edition of the Afreximbank Trade Finance Seminar and Workshop. This year also marks the 20th Anniversary of this event so we are extremely pleased to have you all here as we also celebrate this milestone year. I’d also like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to South Africa for another historic win against England at the Rugby World Cup.

Indeed, it is quite appropriate that this specific edition of our Trade Finance seminar and workshop should take place in Durban, a city that is Africa’s largest port and the third busiest container port in the Southern Hemisphere. The port of Durban, commonly called Durban Harbour, handles up to 31.4 million tons of cargo each year. If one ever needed to affirm the need for trade finance Durban presents a practical answer.

The year 2019 will go down as a watershed in Africa’s history, this is the year that the continent came together to affirm its commitment to addressing our economic and social problems through the launch of the operational phase of the AfCFTA on 7 July 2019 in Niamey, Niger at an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government. As you are all aware this is the most emblematic of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063 “the Africa we want”. The launch of the operational phase of the AfCFTA will provide traders across Africa with preferential trading arrangements that should enable them to enhance the level of intra-Africa trade resulting in enhanced economic growth for our countries. 

This comes at a time when the global economy is witnessing subdued growth, in fact the growth for 2019 is expected to be 3 percent the slowest pace since the global financial crisis, and more recently 3.8 percent in 2017 a serious climb-down. This synchronized slowdown is a consequence of rising trade barriers, elevated uncertainty surrounding trade and geopolitics; idiosyncratic factors causing macroeconomic strain in several emerging economies mostly on the back of protectionism and structural factors in advanced economies.

Although the projection for 2020 shows an improved but modest growth of 3.4 percent, this is a downward revision from 3.6 percent growth projected earlier in the year. The need to therefore look within to avoid exogenous shocks is more urgent and the AfCFTA gives Africa its best chance to maintain and enhance its growth trajectory. One can therefore understand why Afreximbank’s strategy dubbed IMPACT 2021: Africa Transformed has placed the intra-African trade pillar as the arrowhead of the Bank’s strategy, supported by three other critical pillars which are expanding industrialization and export development, strengthening trade finance leadership and enhancing the Bank’s financial soundness and performance.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Indeed, under both our intra-African trade and Trade Finance Leadership pillars we recognize that trade is an important driver of economic growth and development. As Banks we all play a critical role in promoting trade. We must do this by managing the risks for traders as well as facilitating payments while bridging the cash flow gaps that characterize international trade.

Under these pillars, in line with the Bank’s mandate and in pursuance of the Bank’s goal of developing and strengthening trade finance capacity in Africa we launched this Annual series of seminars/workshops. The seminar/workshop has been careful designed to ensure that participants acquire the capacity to structure bankable trade finance deals of varying levels of complexity. The intention is to ensure that African banks and bankers are well equipped to deal with risks in financing trade under a difficult politico-economic environment and changing trade counterparties.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

The 2019 edition of the Afreximbank Trade Finance seminar will cover various topics ranging from how to mitigate Risk in Trade Finance, The Future of Libor, impact of increasing sovereign borrowing on trade finance, the Banks Payment and settlement platform to mention a few.

It is my hope that the delegates to our seminar/workshop will leave with a deeper knowledge of the principles of Trade Finance, its mechanics, risks and benefits. Furthermore, the speakers will also discuss essential legal and credit insurance issues related to supply chain finance. Finally, this seminar/workshop will provide all of us with good opportunities for networking and for promoting business relationships.

In closing, please permit me, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, to use this opportunity to thank the national and provincial government and people of South Africa, and more specifically the people of this great province of KwaZulu-Natal for hosting our workshop.  I also thank our partners KZN Convention Bureau, who have helped us to organize this workshop. Our gratitude also goes to all our Sponsors and our Resource Persons. We also welcome our delegates, some of whom have travelled from afar to be with us. We are very pleased to meet and engage with you and look forward to continuing the dialogue over many years into the future.

I trust that you will all find this workshop/seminar a rewarding learning experience.  Allow me to leave you with a Zulu proverb on change and I state “The sun never sets that there has not been fresh news”, this proverb speaks to the fact that change is the one constant therefore we must continuously improve ourselves through learning.

I thank you.