Trade finance in Africa, essential for the continent’s development

The round table was moderated by David Garay, CEO of Indegate, with the participation of Said Bendidi, President of Mediterrania Capital Partners; Jérôme Ehui, President of the bankers association APBEF of Ivory Coast; Alice Usanase, Vice-President of Africa Finance Corporation; and Alberto Martínez Catalán, Head of International Finance and Guarantees of the Instituto de Crédito Oficial. 

For Said Bendidi, “the most important thing about investments is that they are received through low-risk channels. There are two types of investment: grants and collaboration between the private sector and goods and services, and financial payments that relate to more strategic issues”. 

Bendidi provided a number of interesting facts: in 2023, trade flows between Africa and Spain for exports were 90 billion euros and for imports, 32 billion euros. Morocco accounted for 12 billion euros of the total, much of it from the automotive and textile industries. Imports from Spain amounted to 32 billion euros from Morocco, compared to just 1.5 billion euros from Algeria. 

For his part, Jerome Ehui noted that Spain has great opportunities with African countries: “beyond investments in Morocco, West Africa also has good tools, but the correct application of these tools is lacking. Most of Africa’s relations with Europe are through Spanish interlocutors. It is necessary to ask the countries to have foresight to be able to obtain greater possibilities for banking investments. The flow of money must be protected”. 

Ehui called for a balanced relationship: “We want African companies to invest in Spain, not just Spanish companies to come and invest in Africa. To do this we need to provide guarantees to companies. We need credits that do not create barriers for companies. We must have a better relationship with Spanish bankers”. 

From the Instituto de Crédito Oficial, Alberto Martínez Catalán stressed that “improving the conditions for investors to facilitate the development of Spanish companies is one of ICO’s objectives. From this institution we provide capital based on guarantees, but we enjoy a flexibility that has allowed us to increase economic contributions to Spanish companies in Africa and vice versa”. 

Alice Usanase said that “from Spain there is a lot of content aimed at Africa, but it poses many challenges. What we want is to be a financial institution that allows African companies, from the West, to be able to work and collaborate with banks and companies, not only Spanish, but also European”. 

According to Usanase, “100% of the money received is invested in Africa. COVID made us realise how important the production chains are. Africa is home to most of the raw materials needed for automobiles. Kenya has 90% of the copper reserves. Capacity building and infrastructure is the basis for growth at the local level”.

Saad Bendidi concluded by warning that “one of the most serious issues is the importance of the dollar. If we work with the dollar, we are subject to a territoriality problem. Transactions would be subject to US instructions. If an African company works with the ECB, it will not have monetary sovereignty. Every time we work with the dollar, we will lose our economic sovereignty. We have to be pragmatic”. 

Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo and Morocco 

The final session of the event featured several monographs on the economies of Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Morocco. 

Solange Amichia, CEO of CEPICI, presented the one on Côte d’Ivoire, while Hermione Bolumbe, national MP and secretary general of UDPSIK, and Alain Kyuncu, advisor to the head of state of the DRC, dealt with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The monograph on Morocco was given by Adil Rais, co-president of the Spain-Morocco Economic Council (CEMAES), and Rosa Cañadas, president of the Tanja Foundation. 

Rosa Cañadas stressed that “Spain is currently Morocco’s leading trading partner, but it has been a very long road. Meetings like this one help us to see the reality and contribute to progress”. 

For Cañadas, “Spanish businessmen are still wary of investing in Africa; however, they were not so wary of Latin American countries in the 1980s and 1990s, when conditions in those countries were much more complicated than they are today in Africa”.

The president of Tanja called for “more and better information, to reflect the reality in Africa today, which is more positive than what is in the media”. 

According to Adil Rais, “Spain and Morocco have common interests, there are mutual investments and a two-way cycle of migration. Our relationship is an example for other countries: Spanish companies have created 30,000 managerial jobs in Morocco”. 

Rais underlined “the excellent relationship between His Majesty Mohammed VI and the father of the current Spanish King, Juan Carlos I, who built a model that has been followed until now, and which can be imitated for relations between Europe and Africa”. 

“There are still obstacles, such as a lack of understanding, but there are many common interests and a balanced partnership,” said Adil Rais, who announced the holding of a forum with representatives of the governments of Spain, Morocco and Latin American countries.