The African Import and Export Bank (Afreximbank) and the state-run National Bank of Egypt (NBE) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote trade and investment flows into Egypt, the African bank said in a statement on Tuesday. Under the MoU signed on 17 November 2021 in Durban at the Intra-African Trade Fair, the two institutions agreed to broaden and deepen their collaboration in the provision of products and services related to project preparation, project finance and asset-based finance, intra-Africa trade, export development finance, treasury, trade finance, syndication, financial advisory and digital platforms. The MoU establishes a Joint Project Preparation Facility (JPPF) between the two institutions, a first-of-a-kind for an Egyptian commercial bank. Amr Kamel, Afreximbank's executive vice president for Business Development and Corporate Banking The JPPF is set to support public and private sector investors to prepare projects in the following prioritized sectors; energy, transport and logistics, logistical platforms such as special economic zones / industrial parks, manufacturing, agro – processing, hospitality and tourism, and services in the ICT, healthcare and creative economy. The partnership aims to catalyse and advance the attainment of Egypt's strategic objectives as espoused under the Sustainable Development Strategy Egypt Vision 2030. This would be by creating quality jobs, enhancing competitiveness of the country's economy, embedding economic resilience and facilitating market access within the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) context. "The execution of this memorandum marks yet another remarkable milestone in our longstanding partnership with the National Bank of Egypt, Egypt's largest commercial bank and a founding shareholder of Afreximbank." Amr Kamel, Afreximbank's executive vice president for business development and corporate banking, said. Hisham Okasha, chairman of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) "It is a multifaceted partnership that encompasses end-to-end financial solutions spanning from project conception, through to project implementation and project operations, underpinned by the provision of bespoke financial advisory services." "We aim to mainstream project preparation activities across the continent and complement member countries efforts to bridge infrastructure and investment gaps in a timely manner thereby fast tracking the operationalisation of the AfCFTA." Hisham Okasha, NBE's chairman, said the protocol aims at strengthening relations, creating a framework for cooperation and coordinating efforts to support the public and private sectors. Yehia Aboul Fotouh, deputy chairman of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE). The protocol also targets identifying and preparing projects to be financed, providing the necessary financing for several investment projects undertaken by Egyptian businesses, and creating a favorable investment climate to help such businesses tap into the promising African market, Okasha added. He further said access to advisory and training services and international transactions would be offered to these businesses under the protocol to provide the best success factors and capitalise on the huge investment opportunities in the continent across the industrial, agricultural and energy sectors. The signing was the culmination of the efforts exerted by experts and teams; and came as a result of the fruitful and lasting NBE-Afreximbank strategic partnership, Yehia Abo Elfotouh, NBE's deputy chairman, said.
