Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) for African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) at ‘BBB’ (www.Afreximbank.com), with a Stable Outlook. The agency also affirmed the Bank’s Short-Term IDR at ‘F2’ and the long-term ratings on the Bank’s Global Medium Term Note Programme and Debt Issuances at ‘BBB’.

The ratings affirmation recognises Afreximbank’s strong profile and increasing systemic relevance to the African continent as evidenced by the increasing number of key mandates placed on the Bank by the African Union (AU), including the implementation of the health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, recently, the support for access to grains and fertilisers in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Fitch also acknowledged the Bank’s strong capitalisation and liquidity position evidenced by its ‘excellent’ internal capital generation where the Bank was benefiting from ongoing shareholder support through the AU-initiated General Capital Increase (GCI) under the Bank’s current Strategic Plan (Plan VI), through which the Bank aims to raise US$2.6 billion in paid-in capital. Cumulatively, the Bank has mobilized a gross paid-in equity of US$2.1 billion since the GCI was launched in August 2021.

Consequently, Fitch noted that Afreximbank had a strong liquidity profile, with its share of quality treasury assets rated ‘AA’ to ‘AAA” (53 per cent in 2023) remaining substantially above the ‘strong’ threshold of 40 per cent. The liquidity profile is further enhanced by its access to capital markets and other alternative liquidity sources even during challenging times.

Afreximbank has continuously demonstrated its ability to de-risk its lending portfolio, with a low concentration risk and a high degree of loan collateralisation (85 per cent of total loans in 2023, including provisions), with cash collaterals covering 20 per cent of the loans, and 8 per cent covered by credit insurance from ‘A’ to ‘AA’-rated insurers. Fitch assessed the Bank’s risk management policies as ‘moderate’ and primarily reflected “the Bank’s use of credit risk mitigants that have helped maintain a relatively low non-performing loan ratio, despite the high-risk environment that the bank operates in”.

Reacting to the reaffirmation of the Bank’s rating, Denys Denya, Afreximbank Group Senior Executive Vice President, said that it was pleasing to note that Fitch rates the Bank “a-” on a standalone basis, before notching two levels down due to operating environment; which is a strong testament to the Bank’s systemic relevance to Africa and a recognition of its strong delivery of its developmental mandate, its prudent risk management practices and its relentless focus on capital and liquidity which had culminated in robust financial performance.

“The Bank and its subsidiaries continue to play a pivotal role in facilitating trade and investment across its Member States,” said Mr. Denya. “Together with the robust relationships it enjoys, the Bank has become integral to the achievement of the AU’s key strategic economic programmes and initiatives on the continent and in the Diaspora, including the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and the management of the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund.”

He further noted that, in executing its countercyclical role, Afreximbank continues to be nimble and resourceful in its support to Member States to enable them to mitigate the vagaries of a persistently challenging operating environment, such as the 2015 commodity price crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia crisis and the current African debt crisis. The Bank is grateful for the support of the AU and its member countries in its capital and deposit mobilisation drive.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$6.1 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has issued directives to form a crisis cell headed by Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly to follow- up and manage the situation pertinent to the deaths of Egyptian pilgrims.

This comes within the framework of the Egyptian leadership’s keenness to follow-up on the conditions of pilgrims and offer support and assistance to the families of the deceased. The President noted the need for immediate coordination with the Saudi authorities to facilitate receiving the bodies of the deceased and streamline the process in this regard.

The Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt has extended its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the deceased and stressed the government’s commitment to providing them with the necessary support during this unfortunate event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The EAC table-top simulation exercise (TTX) organized by the EAC Secretariat together with Partner States and other technical partners has successful tested the activation of the recently established regional rapidly deployable expert pool today in Nairobi, Kenya.

The expert pool has been set up since 2020 based on the lessons learnt from the Ebola outbreak in 2014/15 in West Africa as well as other infectious disease outbreaks in the EAC to ensure a timely regional response to disease outbreaks working with regional experts.

The key objective of TTX was to identify strengths and areas of improvement for collaboration and coordination between national, regional and continental level in an outbreak scenario and to develop a roadmap, including recommendations on how to integrate the EAC rapidly deployable expert pool and the AVoHC-SURGE initiative to allow for joint planning, deployments and capacity development.

A TTX is a facilitated discussion under a low stress environment where participants meet to discuss their roles during an emergency and to practice, evaluate and identify areas for improvement in their responses to a particular scenario.

The simulation exercise has been part of a 3-day workshop that was opened by a joint training of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO).

The training aimed at strengthening capacities and knowledge among Partner States’ and EAC experts in relation to regional and continental guidelines and mechanisms in place for rapid response, centering around the African Health Volunteers Corps and Strengthening and Utilizing Response Groups for Emergencies (AVoHC-SURGE) initiative, implemented across the continent.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the training, Dr Eric Nzeyimana, Principal Health Officer at the EAC on behalf of the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political sectors, Hon. Andrea Ariik, said the EAC simulation exercise, using the lessons learnt and recommendations, puts the region in a good place and better prepared to outbreaks of epidemics and pandemics in the future.

On his part, Dr Radjabu Bigirimana, AVoHC Lead at the Africa CDC highlighted the mutual benefits of the close collaboration between the EAC Secretariat and the Africa CDC through the AVoHC-SURGE initiative. “A collaboration framework is under development that will allow us to join forces in outbreak response through joint rostering of experts, capacity building and deployments inside the EAC and on the continent”

Dr Arisekola Ademola Jinadu, Technical Officer IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework reminded participants on the importance to follow-up on the outcomes and recommendations of the simulation exercise at all levels to inform other ongoing preparedness and response efforts. .

The training and the TTX, brought together more than 50 experts from health, environment and livestock sectors in charge of emergency preparedness and response in the EAC Partner States as well as the EAC Secretariat, WHO AFRO,  Africa CDC, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the German Epidemic Preparedness Team (SEEG) who together simulated a response to a cross-border Ebola Virus outbreak in the EAC region.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of East African Community.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is raising the alarm for the escalating humanitarian needs of nearly 9 million people in West Africa who are currently displaced due to increasing violence, insecurity, and extreme weather events. People have often become displaced multiple times, exacerbating their hardships. On World Refugee Day, the IRC alerts that urgent action is needed to address the specific challenges presented by this compound crisis of armed conflict and climate change.

Across the world, changing climate has exacerbated existing challenges. Sixteen countries are caught in the intersection of climate vulnerability and armed conflict, representing a staggering 44% of people impacted by natural disasters and 79% of those in humanitarian need. One in four of those countries are in West Africa: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. These communities often lack the resources to adapt or recover, bearing the brunt of climate-induced displacement.

Countries in West Africa are particularly vulnerable to sudden onset events such as floods, alongside ongoing issues like land degradation, water scarcity, and coastal erosion, which have increased in occurrence and severity due to the adverse effects of climate change. In 2022, for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa, climate-related disasters caused almost as many internal displacements as conflicts: In Nigeria, most internal displacements were caused by disasters last year. The country experienced the worst floods in a decade, resulting in 2.4 million people displaced—the highest number of people displaced owing to disasters in Sub-Saharan Africa in the past ten years.

Modou Diaw, Regional Vice President for the IRC in West Africa, says:

“Conflict remains a primary driver of displacement, but over the last few decades, climate change has significantly impacted migration decisions across West Africa. The overlap of conflict and climate disasters underscores the urgent need for comprehensive and coordinated responses to break the cycle of climate change and armed conflict, and to increase humanitarian access and funding that supports resilience and adaptation to climate change.

The IRC is working to address the root causes of displacement, by enhancing resilience to climate shocks, and ensuring sustainable development are critical to mitigating the crisis by providing specialized support and protection services, including the safety, well-being, and rights of displaced women and girls, for access to violence prevention and response services, psychosocial support, and livelihoods assistance. ”

Since 1991, the IRC has partnered locally in West Africa to empower people in crisis to survive and rebuild their lives. The IRC’s regional office for West Africa is based in Dakar, Senegal, and supports six country programs in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone as well as a project-specific office in Monrovia, Liberia.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Rescue Committee (IRC) .