WEST AFRICA – The African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has secured concessional financing facility from The European Investment Bank to cover the shareholding of three prospective members – Cameroon, Niger and Togo.
In a statement, ATI noted that the concessional financing facility is going to unlock additional investment insurance and is expected to transform public and private sector investment in the countries.
Investment insurance includes the full spectrum of political and credit risk insurance covering both sovereign and corporate risks.
The agreement with ATI to enable the European Investment Bank to finance membership of countries was signed at the 2019 Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg by Ambroise Fayolle, vice-president of the European Investment Bank and John Lentaigne, Ag CEO of the African Trade Insurance Agency.
“Today marks a significant milestone in the European Investment Bank’s support for the private sector and sustainable infrastructure development across Africa,” said Ambroise Fayolle, vice-president of the European Investment Bank.
Mr. Fayolle further noted that the agreements agreed in Johannesburg will enable West African countries to benefit fully from ATI membership and benefit from increased investment in sectors such as agriculture, energy, manufacturing and health.
The European Investment Bank which is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, will finance capital participation that will enable Cameroon, Niger and Togo to access guarantee and insurance mechanisms provided by ATI.
This also represents the first time the European Investment Bank (EIB) has backed ATI’s membership expansion with the full membership of the three countries in ATI expected to follow in the coming months.
Currently, most of ATI’s members are from the East and Central African regions and they include Benin, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Others include Ghana, Madagascar, Tanzania, Malawi, South Sudan, Zambia and Zibambwe.
ATI membership is set to enable underlying projects to be bankable and able to attract new investors for strategic infrastructure and private sector projects.