European Investment Bank (EIB), has granted the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a line of credit agreement amounting to €100 million. The agreement took place last week in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on the sidelines of the African Union-European Union Summit. The facility is aimed at financing trade-related long-term productive investments by private sector entities, or commercially operated public sector entities in Afreximbank member countries that are also signatories to the Cotonou Agreement.

The seven-year loan will finance trade-related investments and projects in Africa, with particular emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in export manufacturing. It is expected to enhance intra-African trade, Africa’s value-added exports, as well as trade with the European Union, thereby strengthening trade as a key driver of economic growth and competitiveness.