By Munachimso Obienyi
The Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, at Afreximbank, Kanayo Awani, has said the 2022 Afreximbank Trade Finance Seminar, which is being held for the first time in a face-to-face setting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is aimed at addressing the challenges of financing transactions in the face of increased global economic uncertainty.
Awani stated this while delivering a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Afreximbank Trade Finance Seminar (ATFS) in Kampala, Uganda.
She stated that this year’s Trade Finance seminar is geared towards building participants’ skills to handle the increased demand for trade finance following the entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and to address the challenges of financing transactions in the face of increased global economic uncertainty.
According to Awani, the seminar will also help participants to understand the African Continental free trade Agreement, which is an important pathway for development as a continent and toward the Agenda 2063: ‘The Africa We Want’.
Awani added that ATFS 2022 was also a platform for forging new alliances, networking, exchanging ideas and also negotiating deals, while building solid and dynamic relationships.
“The over 200 representatives from African financial institutions, joined by professionals from regulatory agencies, corporations and law firms, will benefit from the knowledge of some of the most talented, knowledgeable and experienced practitioners in the industry to lead discussions on the rich and informative content of the seminar”, she said.
Also speaking, Dr Michael Atingi-Ego, Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda, said that “the course content is particularly suitable because it blends traditional topics such as commodity finance, structured trade, and compliance with contemporary and emerging issues such as digitalization, harnessing trade data, and mainstreaming ESG in trade finance; not to mention the impact and lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as geopolitical risks.”
