Trade and compliance of African companies

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Ecobank Group have embarked on a collaboration aimed at simplifying trade and compliance for businesses in Africa by integrating the 'Trade Space within the Single Market' from Ecobank and the MANSA Digital Repository platform from Afreximbank

Thanks to this collaboration, African businesses will now seamlessly benefit from shared services between the two platforms, with users of the Single Market Trade Area easily able to leverage MANSA's comprehensive database to carry out checks. effective know-your-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD), while users of the MANSA platform will, in turn, be able to connect directly to the Commercial Exchange Space within the Market Unique to explore the business opportunities and expand their businesses across Africa.

Ecobank's 'Single Market Trading Space' connects listed businesses across Africa on a single platform, helping them benefit from opportunities in the unified market of 1.4 billion people created by the Zone African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). This is a one-stop portal for the AfCFTA, providing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations with information about the Zone. Its online matchmaking feature allows importers and exporters to post their profile online and showcase the goods and services they offer or wish to procure, with the aim of finding partners on the continent African. Once a partner is found, connections are made through the platform and the transaction can be concluded leveraging Ecobank's commerce and payment solutions across 35 African markets.

The MANSA Digital Repository Platform is a one-stop portal for due diligence matters relating to all African entities. As a centralized digital repository, MANSA seeks to eliminate information asymmetry and increase intra-African trade and commerce with the rest of the world. It encourages and promotes the culture of good governance among African SMEs and creates visibility for their activities while helping African entities to grow, diversify and add value to their export products, both at local and international. MANSA registered entities are assigned an AEI (Africa Entity Identifier) ​​code which allows them to leverage other Afreximbank products and initiatives.

MANSA is also a key digital solution on the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) marketplace which hosts a suite of digital platforms designed as a one-stop shop to enable Afreximbank to better fulfill its mandate, providing essential services to support and promote intra-trade. -Africa and the implementation of the AfCFTA. The platform allows African companies to accelerate their commercial activities on the ATG marketplace by working with verified information on trusted counterparties.

This new collaboration therefore enables Ecobank and Afreximbank to provide a critical solution to the challenge of KYC compliance and access to business across 35 countries in Africa. Improving interoperability is expected to further streamline cross-border trade and compliance in Africa, thereby promoting greater financial and economic integration on the continent.

Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financial institution established to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade.

Ecobank Group is a leading pan-African private banking group with unrivaled African expertise.

Par The editorial staffEditorial Committee – Casablanca