Standard Chartered and AFC unite to boost trade finance in Africa

Pan-African infrastructure development finance institution Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Standard Chartered have launched a funded risk participation programme to increase the availability of trade finance in Africa.

The programme, a first between Standard Chartered and AFC, is expected to generate an estimated incremental trade volume of more than $350 million over the three-year life of the transaction. The programme is a portfolio based risk-sharing facility with Standard Chartered and AFC taking up to a 50:50 basis on the underlying portfolio of the trade finance instruments through African issuing banks.