Afrexim Bank (The African Export Import Bank) has set up a $3 billion emergency fund to help African countries survive economic disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Afrexim, the fund, dubbed Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA), will be available through direct funding, lines of credit, guarantees and cross-currency swaps.
The emergency fund will benefit central banks of the lender’s member states and other financial institutions. The objectives of the fund are to meet trade debt payments and stabilize the foreign exchange reserves of central banks.
A report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) shows that the virus, which has adversely affected the aviation and tourism industries, has already cost African economies a total of $29 billion as of March 2020. As a result, COVID-19 is likely to trim 1.4% off Africa’s $2.1 trillion GDP due to business disruptions.
Afrexim bank is a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution, with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The bank seeks to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade through offering credits, risk bearing and trade information and advisory services.
The bank has 50 African member-countries, Kenya among them.
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