“By supporting this strategic transaction, we are not only bolstering Nigeria’s banking sector but also fostering greater financial integration between Africa and its Diaspora. This initiative is a testament to our commitment to enhancing intra-African trade, promoting economic stability and driving forward the objectives of Agenda 2063 for a prosperous and self-reliant Africa.” She added.

Mrs. Awani stated that Afreximbank’s Bank Acquisition Strategy, empowers African entities to acquire financial assets divested by foreign entities in Africa and the diaspora.

This is also in line with the Bank’s Diaspora Strategy which seeks to promote and finance the integration of the African Diaspora with the rest of the continent.

She noted that, through the facility, Fidelity was extending its services to the UK, in particular, to Africans and African-owned businesses in the UK, including products to support Diaspora investments.

In the words of the MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank, Dr (Mrs) Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, “We are very thankful to Afreximbank for supporting our expansionary initiatives for international growth. It is, indeed, the result of a strong partnership between the two institutions over the years that has produced this good outcome.

The refinancing of the Union Bank (UK) acquisition by Afreximbank will unlock additional value and help create a scalable and more sustaining service franchise that will support trade businesses in Africa and diaspora banking.”

The acquisition is expected to contribute to Africa’s economic growth and development by increasing intra- and extra-African trade finance and trade flows between Nigeria and the UK, supporting the integration of the African Diaspora into regional and continental supply chains and enabling small and medium-sized enterprises across the continent to improve their export competitiveness and light export manufacturing capabilities.

Addressing the opening of the 2023 CANEX Summit held as part of the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023), Mrs. Awani said that the fund would oversee film financing, co-finance with large studios, finance African filmmakers and finance producers and directors of film projects across the continent.

She noted that during CANEX WKND 2022, the Bank had increased the financing it was making available to the creative sector from US$500 million to $1 billion and that the Bank currently had a pipeline of over $600 million in film, music, visual arts, fashion, and sports deal.

“The very first film we financed recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival,” Mrs. Awani said, adding, “The Bank has several in the pipeline from Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, which should be on streaming platforms in 2024.”

Acknowledging that the film and audiovisual industries in Africa accounted for $5 billion of the continent’s GDP and employed an estimated five million people, with the potential to create over 20 million jobs and generate $20 billion in revenues annually, Mrs. Awani noted that the sector faced several challenges, including limited access to financing and copyright infringement due to weak copyright laws, enforcement mechanisms and a lack of awareness.

The sector was also confronted with infrastructure and technology gaps, lack of capacity and shortage of skilled professionals and limited market access and international exposure, as a result of which African creative and cultural products often struggle to gain exposure and access to international markets.

Earlier, Boris Kodjoe, a celebrity actor of Ghanaian descent, highlighted how the creativity of Africans had influenced various aspects of modern life, including music, fashion, art, design, social consciousness, business, sports, film and TV. He said that the exploitation of black creativity by the West had had lasting effects and that, despite admiration of black excellence, Africa still faced branding challenges due to external perception fuelled by the traditional media’s depiction of poverty, famine, civil wars and migration on the continent.

Mr. Kodjoe said that the world craved culturally specific global content and that Africa was a key player in meeting that demand. With the continent’s young population and high connectivity, studios, networks, promoters and brands were investing in solutions to reach diverse audiences. Films and TV shows with diversity performed better than others by 30 per cent and Afrobeats was taking over global airwaves. By 2030, Africa was projected to produce up to 10 per cent of global creative goods export worth roughly $200 billion or four per cent of Africa’s GDP.

Also speaking, H.E. Albert M. Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission, said that the creative sector in Africa was rapidly growing and making a significant contribution to the inclusive growth and sustainable development of African economies.

“I reaffirm my belief that the African creative industry has huge potential to be a source of employment and revenue to create the Africa we want – revenue from intra-African trade as well as revenue from the rest of the world.”

Ambassador Muchanga urged African nations to convert their vast potential into plans and projects that yield tangible results, stressing the need to also invest in protecting international property rights.

CANEX is an Afreximbank initiative to support Africa and the African Diaspora’s creative and cultural industries by providing financing and non-financing instruments to boost growth. The seven-day CANEX Summit is intended to further develop conversations and provide additional business-to-business and business-to-government opportunities. It includes a fashion show featuring a range of bold and exciting designs from across Africa and the Diaspora and a CANEX Music Factory, hosted by renowned South African producer Oskido, which will provide songwriters and beat makers with the opportunity to record their work.

Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme set up by Afreximbank seeks to facilitate the development and growth of the creative and cultural industries in Africa and the diaspora. The programme provides a range of financing and non-financing instruments and interventions aimed at supporting trade and investment in Africa’s creative sector.

IATF2023, Africa’s largest trade and investment fair opened on 9th November and will run till 15th November 2023.

Signed on behalf of the two institutions by Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, Afreximbank, and Calixte Tabangoli, Chief Executive Officer, BPC, the facility will enable BPC to expand its factoring activities by engaging in domestic and cross-border factoring.

The facility builds on a strong partnership that has existed between Afreximbank and BPC for more than five years which has seen them collaborating in a series of initiatives aimed at supporting factoring. These have included facilitating the adoption of a factoring law in the Republic of Congo with the objective of creating an enabling legal and regulatory environment for the growth of factoring as an alternative method of financing for SMEs.

Afreximbank recognises factoring as an important tool for expanding and facilitating African trade, particularly for SMEs. As a member of the Africa Chapter of the FCI, the largest representative body for the factoring industry, Afreximbank has been working with local banks in its member states to seize the opportunities found within the factoring industry while educating and providing support to ensure that world class standards are established and replicated in Africa’s factoring industry, especially as trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement is taking shape.

Mr. Calixte Tabangoli, Chief Executive Officer, Banque Postale du Congo commented: “A few years ago, no one could have imagined that we could accomplish what we did today – becoming the leading factoring business in the Republic of Congo. We do not take this position for granted. As I always say, becoming the number one is difficult, but maintaining the number one position is more difficult. That is the reason why our strategic development plan 2023-2025 has concrete steps for BPC towards becoming the first Congolese Banking Group, with a factoring subsidiary. We are ready to take factoring to a fundamentally new direction. That said, we will need more support from the Bank, and do not be surprised to see us again”.

Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, commented:

“The significance of this transaction is not lost on us at Afreximbank, given the strong partnership we have developed with Banque Postale over the years in support of factoring. This partnership has yielded positive results, including the adoption of the Afreximbank Factoring Model Law by the Republic of Congo in 2021 and the sensitisation and awareness campaigns conducted by our two institutions which have helped bring factoring to the fore as a major alternative to trade finance in the Republic of Congo. 

We are confident that this support will enable Banque Postale to capitalise and strengthen its factoring business and allow it to provide adequate support to those SMEs in Congo that have limited access to bank financing. In line with our strategic plan, Afreximbank remains fully committed to supporting Banque Postale as it advances its mission to promote factoring in Congo and the Central Africa Region.”