eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
The AfreximBank has joined other multi-stakeholders drive to engage Africa’s youths to tap into the benefits of a regionally integrated economy under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
An international non-profit organisation, Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA), is already championing the cause with the AfreximBank pledging to offer funding and technical support.
The pan-African initiative has also attracted participation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union– AfCFTA secretariat, International Trade Centre and the United Nations Development Programme.
“AfreximBank has announced funding and technical support to YALDA, which aims at contributing to the development of Africa’s young leaders and enhance youth participation in the implementation and achievement of the AfCFTA,” said the regional bank.
“The support will cover YALDA’s activities and events, which aim to provide a platform for African youth both within Africa and in the diaspora.”
It said such activities encourage youths to participate in the implementation of the AfCFTA under a campaign named the “Umoja Africa Campaign – Youth Contributing to the Implementation of the AfCFTA”.
The campaign will use various platforms to create awareness of the concepts, benefits and opportunities that are available to youth through regional integration and intra-Africa trade.
AfreximBank said the campaign will work towards alleviating information asymmetry among Africa’s youth with respect to trade in Africa, generating conversations and discourse on their involvement in the implementation of the AfCFTA.
AfreximBank president Professor Benedict Oramah was quoted as saying: “We are glad to be supporting YALDA to address information asymmetry around the AfCFTA.
“Creating awareness among the youths in Africa on the AfCFTA will encourage them to be more innovative and creative, empowering them to become leaders not only at home, but across borders.
“We hope that as the Umoja Africa Campaign gets going, we will start to see the youth taking advantage of the AfCFTA to achieve better livelihoods for themselves and their local communities,” he said.
AfreximBank is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade.
In support of AfCFTA, AfreximBank has completed the development of 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.
The institution is working with the AU and the AfCFTA secretariat to develop an adjustment facility to support countries in effectively participating in the continental free trade area.
At the end of last year, the bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at US$21,5 billion with its shareholder funds amounting to US$3,4 billion.
Between 2016 and 2020, it disbursed more than US$42 billion.
