by Linda Straker
- Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution created in 1993
- Caricom and the OECS signed a partnership agreement with Afreximbank in September 2022
- Grenada will join non-traditional lending institutions to seek more concessionary financing
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said Grenada will join 2 non-traditional lending institutions to seek more concessionary financing to drive Grenada’s economic growth and development.
“Cabinet on Monday approved Grenada joining the partnership agreement between the OECS, Caricom, and the Afreximbank or the African Export–Import Bank,” he announced during a news conference on 6 April 2023.
At the first Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) held in Bridgetown, Barbados in September 2022, Caricom and the OECS signed a partnership agreement with Afreximbank. This partnership agreement consolidates the Bank’s efforts to promote and develop South-South trade and, specifically trade between Africa and the Caribbean in line with its Diaspora Strategy.
“The Bank is a well-run successful bank, existing for 30 years on the continent of Africa and part of this is to look at how we can leverage non-traditional lending institutions, particularly to assist private sector entities within the OECS and in Grenada to get additional concessionary financing,” he said.
In December, the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) approved US$1.5 billion in funding to enable member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) that have ratified the Partnership Agreement to tap into the Bank’s various financial instruments.
With its headquarters in Egypt, the African Export–Import Bank, also referred to as Afreximbank, is a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution created in 1993 under the auspices of the African Development Bank.
Prime Minister Mitchell said that Grenada is also exploring the possibility of becoming a member of the Development Bank of Latin America. “The team at the Ministry of Finance is currently reviewing that situation with the hope we can get cabinet approval in the not to distance future. The aim is to give us as much flexibility as possible when it comes to concessionary financing to drive Grenada’s economic growth,” he said.
The Development Bank of Latin America promotes a sustainable development model through credit, non-refundable resources, and support in the technical and financial structuring of projects in the public and private sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.
It is rather interesting that the PM is looking at these outside banks to help grow the Grenadian economy while the banks that are in Grenada are not helping and in some cases one can argue they are hurting the economy.