U.S. Ex-Im Bank Adds Three Countries To Africa Program

ByJohn S. McClenahen With the addition of Angola, Gabon and Rwanda, a pilot short-term insurance program is now available in 39 sub-Saharan African countries. The banks board of directors has renewed the program for three years, with an overall authorization limit of $100 million. Under the pilot program, Ex-Im Bank can insure short-term credit transactions involving various payment terms, including open account. Last year Ex-Im Bank supported 127 transactions in 18 sub-Saharan African countries for a total of $475 million in authorizations. The countries in which the insurance program is now available are Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde Island, Chad, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.