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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Pan-African lender, Ecobank Group, has unveiled its ‘Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub’ as part of its commitment to promoting intra-African trade.
The Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub is now live, with over 300 businesses from 22 countries having signed onto the digital platform. The Trade Hub connects traders across Africa, within the 1.4 billion people single market framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Ecobank Group CEO Jeremy Awori said the bank as a pan-African lender with the most extensive coverage of Africa, is perfectly placed to provide trade, information and payment solutions to support SMEs and corporates seeking to capitalize on the single market.
“The Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub is a new and remarkable addition to our portfolio of omni-channels, empowering businesses to thrive within Africa’s single market,” he said.
He said the Trade Hub offers numerous services including an online match-making platform that enables importers and exporters to create their company profiles, exhibit their goods and services, and connect with buyers and suppliers across Africa.
It also provides a valuable repository of knowledge and information on the African Continental Free Trade Area, to help SMEs and corporates to familiarize themselves with the single market and ways to expand their trade into new African markets.
The AfCFTA has revolutionised the African business landscape and the Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub, within this context, is an enabler of intra-African trade through catalysing partnerships and facilitating African businesses’ access to new markets,” added Souleymane Diagne, Group Head Trade, Ecobank Group.
The World Bank estimates that the AfCFTA will increase Africa’s exports by $560 billion and boost the continent’s GDP by 7% by 2035. The single market, which became operational at the beginning of 2021, aims to remove most tariffs on goods and services in Africa among member countries and enables the free movement of businesspersons and investments.
