African Export-Import Bank supporting Guyana’s infrastructure drive with US$500M loan

The African Export-Import (Afrexim) Bank will provide a US$500 million loan to support Guyana’s infrastructure drive, the Bank’s President and Chairman of the Board of Directors Benedict Oramah announced on Monday.

Mr. Oramah spoke at the opening ceremony of the second AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum that got underway at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

“For Guyana, we’ve agreed to conclude a US$500 million transaction to support accelerated infrastructure development projects of the Guyanese Government,” he announced in front of hundreds of delegates in Georgetown for the forum.

He added, “We also expect to sign a document evidencing the arrangements we’ve reached with the Government of Guyana for the US$500 million investment bridge financing facility.”

Bridge financing is a form of temporary financing that helps the borrower cover existing costs until long-term funding is secured.

Mr. Oramah also said other agreements with other Caribbean countries are expected during the two-day conference.

For Guyana, he said AfriExim Bank’s subsidiary, the Fund for Export Investment Development in Africa, will enter into an arrangement with the Access Bank Group in Nigeria to jointly invest in Guyana’s and the wider Caribbean’s financial services sector.

Still, the Afrexim Bank Head called for many more partnerships and investments in the two regions.

The trade and investment forum was organised to help strengthen relations, particularly trade relations, between the Caribbean and African continent.

Mr. Oramah said it is imperative for the two regions to cooperate more and noted that over the past year since the inaugural AfriCaribbean Forum was held in Barbados, the two regions have deepened their partnership.

Last year, the Bank approved US$1.5 billion in funding to enable member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) that have ratified the Partnership Agreement with Afreximbank to tap into the Bank’s various financial instruments.

Mr. Oramah said that the sum will increase to US$3 billion once all CARICOM member states have joined the agreement.