‘Nigeria Biggest Beneficiary from Afreximbank’s Loans, Projects’

Mr Jean-Louis Ekra, CEO, Afrexiimexbank, has said that Nigeria is the biggest beneficiary from  the bank’s loans and projects.

Ekra disclosed this at a press conference in Cairo on Sunday as part of activities marking the inauguration of the head office of the bank.

He said that as a multilateral finance institution, the bank had never discriminated against any African country in spite of having its head office in Cairo.

The bank boss also said that 37 Africa governments had shares in Afreximbank, explaining that projects were always financed based on merit.

Ekra listed some projects which the bank financed in Nigeria to include those in power sector, oil and gas as well as projects involved in the development of local contents.

He said that a Nigerian construction firm designed the 14 million dollars head office of the bank in Cairo.

Ekra said that the bank recently launched a $500m Egypt Africa Trade Promotion Programme to leverage economic strength of the country.

He said many private sector operators in Egypt had shown interest in the fund and promised that the fund would be disbursed through a local commercial bank.

Ekra said the bank had intended to increase its paid up share capital by 2016, but this had even been achieved through positive response from shareholders

Afreximbank is a Pan African finance institution designed to accelerate growth in Africa through trade finance.