The recently concluded Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023), which took place in Egypt, resulted in trade and investment agreements valued at approximately $43.7 billion.
The executive vice-president, Intra-African Trade Bank, Afreximbank, Kanayo Awani, who disclosed this, at a virtual press conference, stated that, the $43.7 billion worth of trade and investment deals sealed in the concluded IATF2023 exceeded the projected figure of $43 billion.
Awani claimed that 1,939 exhibitors from 45 African countries and 16 non-African countries attended the IATF2023. She also mentioned that it was noteworthy that 42 of the 45 countries represented at the event had pavilions.
“We did promise to come back and give you conclusive key indicators after doing the necessary audits. In terms of participants of attendance both in-person/virtual, we ended up with 28,282. In terms of the number of exhibitors, I think we had announced 1,615 at the close of the trade fair but following our audit, it was 1,939. we had actually targeted 1,600,” she disclosed.
She however described the IATF2023 as a huge platform to access finance, saying “We were aware that the contracts that were being negotiated had to be financed in one form or the other.”
Speaking on Afreximbank’s effort in boosting intra-African trade, Awani said, “As Afreximbank, we ensured that financial institutions and non-banking financial institutions were part of the trade fair to provide the necessary financing and expand access to finance on the continent. The IATF is not just a platform to grow intra-African trade but a platform for banks to grow access to finance.”
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