As part of its corporate social responsibility, AELEX Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators, has engaged the private sector on awareness of the existence of the Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and the need for them to leverage the same for their business expansion.
Some of the DFIs include African Development Bank (AfDB), Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Africa50.
Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, International Council to AELEX Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators, said the private sector should be aware that these DFIs exists, particularly the pan-African ones, adding that they can package their projects to make them attractive for financing by these DFIs.
Speaking at the banking and finance roundtable themed, ‘Unlocking DFI Funding for the Private Sector’, he said the roundtable is a knowledge sharing session where the private sector operators are expected to be aware that in an environment where access to credit is shrinking and where interest rates in Nigeria, for example, are in double-digits, this was an opportunity to get funding at reasonable rates and in foreign currency.
Responding to questions on the risks associated with accessing the DFIs particularly, the foreign exchange risks, he said: “You have constraints in terms of foreign currency funding; you have constraints in terms of interest rates, so DFIs are an option because they are able to raise funding at cheaper rates at investments grade.”
Akin-Olugbade was concerned that Nigerian projects are not properly packaged, adding that most of the projects are not bankable to attract the financing required to implement them.
Lawrence Fubara Anga, Partner, AELEX, said the purpose of the roundtable was capacity building and knowledge sharing.
He explained that the banking and finance roundtable was the first one held with Akin-Olugbade who joined the firm as international council a few months ago.
“We want people to know we have a man of his calibre and status that has been on the ground floor of almost every major DFI banks.”
Akin-Olugbade, recently retired as an executive director and General Council at AFC and also held management positions in the AFREXIM, AfDB and other DFIs.
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
