Ecobank, the Pan African lender has highlighted its strong commitment to aid the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across Africa through its new Single Market Trade Hub.
Also called My Trade Hub, this initiative will help importers to connect with exporters and vice-versa, within Africa’s single market aimed at getting easy access to trading partners, geared towards promoting intra-African trade.
The Ecobank My Trade Hub is now live, comprising 300 businesses from 22 countries having signed onto the digital platform. The Hub brings together traders across Africa, within the 1.4 billion people single market framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Jeremy Awori, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ecobank Group said that as a pan-African lender with the most extensive coverage on Africa, the bank is committed to providing information, trade and payment solutions to support SMEs and big ventures, intent on concentrating on a single market.
“The Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub is a new and remarkable addition to our portfolio of omni-channels, empowering businesses to thrive within Africa’s single market,” said Jeremy Awori.
He stressed that the Trade Hub offers a wide array of opportunities like an online match-making avenue, which facilitates easy connection between importers and exporters to create their company profiles, exhibit their goods and services. This will be easy for these traders to link up with buyers and suppliers across Africa.
The hub is also a platform for accessing a valuable repository of vital information and knowledge of the African Continental Free Trade Area, that will help SMEs expand their trade into new markets in Africa, hence helping them to grow into sustainable and scalable enterprises.
Ecobank Group Head Souleymane Diagne said that the Trade Hub in the AfCFTA context is an enabler of intra-African trade, through facilitating partnerships and enabling African businesses’ access to new markets.
According to estimates by the World Bank, the AfCFTA will increase Africa’s income by $450 billion, increase intra-African exports by more than 81% and boost the continent’s GDP by 7% by 2035.
The single market trade agreement, which became operational at the beginning of 2021, aims to lift most tariffs on goods and services in Africa among member countries, while enabling the free movement of traders and investments.
It will also enable the African economy to reach the $29 trillion mark by 2050, according to estimates from the United Nations Commission for Africa.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
