CAIRO, Sept 21 – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a $500 million Global Credit Facility with the Africa Trading and Distribution Company (ATDC) to support the movement, distribution and trade of commodities and products across African and international markets.
ATDC is a pan-African trading and distribution platform focused on expanding African trade, increasing local value addition and strengthening economic integration. Its initial operations span Egypt, Nigeria, Malawi and Zimbabwe, with the company seeking to improve market intelligence, expand market access and support implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Under the agreement, Afreximbank will provide ATDC with trade-financing capacity to originate and scale eligible trading and distribution transactions across African markets.
The facility will finance the purchase and aggregation of African goods as well as associated logistics, transportation, warehousing and distribution costs, providing working capital across different stages of the trade cycle.
Repayment will be anchored on proceeds generated from the sale of goods financed under the facility, allowing ATDC to deploy the financing across eligible trade, logistics and distribution transactions.
Financing Africa’s trade infrastructure
Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, said the facility is intended to strengthen the trade and distribution infrastructure required to expand the AfCFTA’s impact.
“The US$500 million Global Credit Facility extended to ATDC underscores Afreximbank’s commitment to strengthening the trade, logistics and distribution architecture required to realise the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
Awani said the financing would support the distribution of African-made goods across the continent, helping deepen regional value chains, expand market access for producers and increase manufactured exports.
She added that stronger distribution networks could also improve the global competitiveness of African products and support the expansion of value-added and manufactured exports from the continent.
Strengthening supply chains and market access
Stewart Makura, Chief Executive Officer of ATDC, said reliable systems connecting producers, processors, manufacturers and markets are necessary to unlock Africa’s trade potential.
“Realising Africa’s full trade potential requires reliable systems that connect producers, processors, manufacturers and markets. This facility strengthens ATDC’s ability to aggregate supply, mobilise working capital and move goods efficiently across value chains. Together with Afreximbank, we will support stronger supply chains, value addition, import substitution and intra-African trade.”
The financing is designed to extend beyond individual commodity transactions. ATDC plans to use the facility to develop repeatable trade corridors and expand dependable sourcing and distribution networks across African markets.
This could support more commercially sustainable trade flows while increasing the regional availability of raw materials, industrial inputs and value-added products.
The facility also aligns with the broader objective of increasing the processing of African commodities within the continent before export, potentially strengthening regional value chains and reducing reliance on imports for selected goods and industrial inputs.
By combining trade finance with logistics and distribution capacity, the partnership between Afreximbank and ATDC is positioned to address some of the infrastructure and working-capital constraints that can limit the movement of goods between African markets.
