By Bill W. Cooper
The Oakwood Green Africa Limited (Oakwood Green), in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Ministry of Commerce has kicked off the first edition of the trade roadshow conference intended to facilitate private sector growth in Liberia.
The two-day event which is being held under the theme: “Supporting the Intra-Africa Trade Drive: Ensuring the Last Mile,” is intended to help boost the country’s private sector through loans or credits, as well as the provision of business opportunities to SMEs personnel in the country.
Additionally, the interactive the conference brought together a number of entities including government, corporate institutions, individual businesses, banks and insurance companies, as well as CBL governor, J. Aloysius Tarlue among others.
Afreximbank is approximately US$40 billion multilateral trade finance institutions created in 1993 under the auspices of Africa Development Bank (AfDB), and has its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt with the mandate of promoting, facilitating and financing intra-Africa trade and extra Africa finance trade.
Afreximbank is also the foremost pan-African multilateral financial institution dedicated to financing and promoting intra-and-inter-African trade, and provides financing programs, solutions, and advisory services to support the expansion, diversification, promotion, and development of intra-African trade and trade development projects.
While, Oakwood Green Africa is a Pan Africa institution based out of Ghana with strategy investment with key focused in Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and expanding across Africa.
At the moment, Oakwood Green Africa is a key strategy partner to the Africa Export and Import Bank along with a number of key initiatives, Intra-Africa Trade Fair, Master Card Diligence Platform and Pan Africa Payment and Settlement System.
The organization leverages strategic investments in Corporate Finance, Intra-Africa Trade, Technology, Knowledge Capital, Business Acceleration, and Banking to change the African narrative, as it is also committed to facilitating greatness across Africa and supporting Afreximbank’s intra-Africa trade agenda to the last mile.
Speaking at the start of the conference yesterday, May 16, 2023 at the EJS Ministerial complex in Congo Town, governor Tarlue on behalf of the Liberian government thanked the Oakwood Green and Afreximbank for the roadshow which he said will immensely help improve Liberia’s private sector growth.
The CBL stated that he was excited to have formed part of the conference which he stressed will greatly buttress government efforts in supporting, promoting and improving of the Liberias private sector for economic growth and prosperity for Liberians.
According to governor Tarlue, with the vision of the government believing in private sector investment which he maintained is the bedrock for the economic growth of any countries, Liberian being of no exception wholeheartedly welcome and support the initiative from Oakwood Green and Afreximbank.
He added, “In line with the CBL three objectives which seek to promote price and financial stability, to support government economic policy, they will work tirelessly to ensure that Liberians in the private sector benefit greatly from the initiate because government cannot employ without the private sector growth.”
Earlier reading the statement on the Roadshow, Oakwood Green Executive Officer, GabrielEdgal stated that tow-day conference will help open door to the business community of Liberia to be able to enhance trade and within itself, between the country and other African countries.
He noted that the trade roadshow will be Afreximbank’s funding support for African businesses and institutions, with Oakwood Green playing a critical role as the last mile partner for entities and institutions seeking funding from Afreximbank within the African continent.
According to him, the trade roadshoe, once launch will further provide a platform for collaboration and exploration of new investment and trade opportunities for businesses and investors across the African continent.
He added that it is also intended to focus on promoting trade within the African continent, with a specific emphasis on supporting businesses and institutions involved in trade to explore opportunities for trade financing and structuring support.
Meanwhile, Afreximbank Regional Chief Operating Officer-Anglophone West Africa, Eric MonchuIntong said that the establishment of the Afreximbank was as a result of the African leader at the time which saw the need to create a bank as financial institution to take care and support African trade.
He said global trade runs a trillion of US dollars but Afreximbank realized that Africa total trade is not more than 3 percent of global trade and as such, the creation of the bank which was created to help reduce the gap between African trade and global trade can never be overemphasized.
