UBA signed the agreement with AfCFTA on the sidelines of the 30thAfreximbank Annual Meeting which was held in Accra, Ghana. By this agreement, the parties are to promote the development of SMEs operating in Four sectors under the 1st phase of the partnership which are largely import dependent by providing technical and financing solutions for intra-African/domestic alternatives. These economic sectors are Agro-processing, Automotive, pharmaceuticals, Transport and Logistics.
One of the key initiatives of the AfCFTA is to improve access to finance and markets for SMEs to encourage their growth and contribution to the socio-economic development of Africa. The deputy managing director of UBA, Muyiwa Akinyemi, who signed the agreement on behalf of the bank, noted that being Africa’s global bank, UBA remains committed to supporting the growth/development of SMEs across Africa. This is in line with our strategic focus on the SME segment being a catalyst to economic development of Africa.
Akinyemi further said, “ Under this partnership UBA will go beyond just financing to provide non-financial services to these SMEs to develop the capacity for growth across the 20 African countries that we are present and build sustainable business practices. We shall also be leveraging on technology to deliver our financing activities to the beneficiaries and this platform provides us with a unique opportunity to stimulate the development of the continent as Africas’ Global Bank”.