Anambra State in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the development of the South-East state through the provision of project preparation and advisory services, including a potential debt financing programme of up to $200 million.
Under the terms of the MOU signed by Mrs Kanayo Awani, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank and Mr Charles Soludo, Governor of Anambra State, during the Anambra Investment Summit held recently, Afreximbank and the state government will jointly prioritise strategic projects for preparation and funding, collaboratively evaluating each project to formulate a time-bound work programme for effective execution.
Afreximbank will work with the state government to establish bankability for key projects, including the Ikenga Mixed-Use Industrial City, the Anambra Export Emporium and the Akwaihedi Unubi Uga Automotive Industrial Park, as well as any other project agreed upon by the parties.
Afreximbank and the state government will also complete all necessary steps to secure a $200 million finance package from Afreximbank and its connected entities for the projects, pending a substantive agreement.
The MoU also requires the parties to work together through the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) to promote trade and investment in Anambra State and execute the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
The Cairo-based bank will work with the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency to provide trade and investment training, hold investment forums, identify and prepare strategic trade and investment projects, and promote African sub-sovereign government collaboration. The AfSNET network will let African sub-sovereign governments share information and learn from each other.
Providing transaction advice services to facilitate debt and equity capital procurement is another MoU partnership. Export development counselling, twinning, and senior debt structuring will also be covered.
In her address to the summit, Mrs. Awani, speaking on behalf of Mr. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, said that Afreximbank’s mission aligned seamlessly with Anambra’s industrialization goals, including its vision for a smart mega city, and that the bank had prioritised industrial parks and special economic zones to accelerate Africa’s industrial infrastructure development.
“These facilities optimise capital deployment, drive economies of scale, and foster ecosystem development,” she said. “They also enable access to cutting-edge technologies and infrastructure”.
Although such projects required significant funding, she said that innovative partnerships, including public-private partnerships, could bridge the African continent’s infrastructure gap and that the African private sector had great potential to support a wide range of public sector endeavours.
Mrs. Awani said Afreximbank is ready to support Anambra State, as it is doing in Ogun and Abia States (Enyimba Industrial City), to promote similar projects.
Peace and security are returning to the state, and our kids are realising that their future cannot survive in an insecure environment. We may expect a $400 million industrial park project in conjunction with the state.
“It makes business sense, and we are in advanced talks with Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) to create over 10,000 jobs and bring export-oriented businesses to the state,” she said.
She stated that the bank may raise funds for meaningful infrastructure projects in the state using various financing instruments and methods alongside the state government by leveraging its fundraising capabilities in Africa’s capital markets.
She said the bank was implementing AfSNET, a platform for sub-sovereign governments across Africa to promote economic development and intra-African trade and investment by facilitating public-private collaboration, peer learning, and Afreximbank’s products and services to the grassroots, where trade and investment occur.
She also said that Afreximbank had invested over $36 billion in Nigeria’s economy since 1993. The $300 million 500-bed Africa Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja in partnership with King’s College, London, the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre in Abuja, and the Africa Quality Assurance Centre in Shagamu, Ogun State, are Afreximbank flagship projects in Nigeria.
