by Mike Van Kamande

Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola-Banda says apart from promoting trade and investment Export Credit Financing (ECF) is an essential tool for boosting exports facilitation.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Monday when he opened a three-day ECF training Chithyola-Banda said the facility augers well with government’s vision of creating an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant export-led industrialized upper middle income country by 2063.

“Many countries including Malawi have rich natural resources that hold potential for increased export activity but often lack the financial resources or innovative financial instruments to fully exploit them to our economic advantage.

“For instance recently operationalized African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement opened up vast regional trade opportunities creating a unified market with over 1.2 billion people and a gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.5 trillion. However, for businesses within SADC Region to exploit such opportunities there is need for access to finance to bring goods and services to these markets,” he said.

Southern African Development Community Development Finance Cooperation and Resources (SADC-DFCR) Chief Executive Officer Stuart Kufeni said the region needs sound export credit finance functions that should enable export trade in a safe, value adding, and sustainable manner. But for this to materialise, we need to invest in skills and capacities to complement efforts of growing and diversifying export credit finance schemes and instruments that are available within the region and beyond.

In his remarks Export Development Fund (EDF) Managing Director Alfred Chanza said the training aims at building capacities, deepening knowledge, and sharing the best practices in the area of ECF.

“This practical and interactive course is designed for professionals seeking to build and improve knowledge of Export and Trade Credit insurance as well as widen understanding both of the range of products and their modus operandi,” he said.