Malta-based trade finance institution Fimbank has received a $30 million loan from the IFC (a member of the World Bank Group) as part of the corporation’s Global Trade Liquidity Programme (GTLP).

The GLTP is a unique global initiative that raises funds from international finance and development institutions, governments and banks. The programme operates through global as well as regional banks to extend trade finance to importers and exporters in developing countries.

Fimbank will be using these funds to support its trade finance activities in MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa.

James Gohary, manager for the Financial Institutions Group at IFC, said: “Small and medium enterprises form the backbone of most economies in the Middle East and Africa, but they often struggle to break into new markets. Trade financing can help change that, allowing innovative businesses to expand across borders, creating jobs and spurring growth.”

Fimbank’s acting CEO Simon Lay said that Fimbank considered the support of trade flows to and from emerging markets as being fundamental to the increase of global cross-border trade, particularly between Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“The nature of short term trade financing, allows these funds to be deployed several times in the course of the programme. This creates a positive multiple of the volume of business which can be financed, thereby allowing small and medium-sized enterprises to achieve sustainable growth by financing investment and mobilising capital.”

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