(FEDA) - The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the development impact-focused subsidiary of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has announced that Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe has become the latest country to sign the FEDA Establishment Agreement.

The accession to the agreement, achieved under the guidance of Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada of São Tomé and Príncipe, demonstrates the country’s support for Afreximbank’s efforts to broaden FEDA’s effectiveness by mobilizing its Member States to sign and ratify the FEDA Establishment Agreement and to support the organization’s impact investing objectives.

New memberships broaden the scope of FEDA’s interventions and underpin the Fund's dedication to its mission of delivering long-term capital to African economies with a focus on industrialization, intra-African trade and value-added exports.

Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank and Chairman of the Boards of both Afreximbank and FEDA, said: “We welcome the signing of the FEDA Establishment Agreement by the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, the 41^st African country to join the Bank as a participating state. The Bank has committed to providing financial and advisory support to assist Sao Tomé and Principe achieve its structural transformation which focuses on expanding and diversifying its blue economy. The signing of the FEDA Establishment Agreement establishes the foundation for more coordinated intervention in the future.”

Marlène Ngoyi, CEO of FEDA, commented: “FEDA is delighted to onboard the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe as a signatory to the FEDA Establishment Agreement. This is a critical step that will pave the way for the ratification of the Agreement in the near future, which will, in turn, better facilitate FEDA’s interventions in the country. We look forward to supporting transformative investments in São Tomé and Príncipe that are well aligned with FEDA’s investment strategy.”

Hon. Ginésio Da Mata, Minister of Planning, Finance, and the Blue Economy of São Tomé and Príncipe, commented: “We are pleased to sign the FEDA Establishment Agreement as we look to further strengthen the renewed partnership with Afreximbank and FEDA. We believe the partnership will lead to increased investment in sectors critical to the development journey of São Tomé and Príncipe. Our vision is to become a regional and continental market in line with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) to which São Tomé and Príncipe is a signatory.” 

About FEDA: The Fund for Export Development in Africa (“FEDA”) is the impact investment subsidiary of Afreximbank set up to provide equity, quasi-equity, and debt capital to finance the multi-billion-dollar funding gap (particularly in equity) needed to transform the Trade sector in Africa. FEDA pursues a multi-sector investment strategy along the intra-African trade, value-added export development, and manufacturing value chain which includes financial services, technology, consumer and retail goods, manufacturing, transport & logistics, agribusiness, as well as ancillary trade enabling infrastructure such as industrial parks.

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 the past three decades, Afreximbank has deployed 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. Afreximbank is working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA. As of 2022, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$31 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$5.2 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$86 billion between 2016 and 2022. 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”).