Ebene/ Bujumbura, 2 February 2022 – The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) is pleased to announce its latest accolade for ‘World’s Best Bank for Trade Finance in Frontier Markets’ by Global Finance. This is the Bank’s first global level award. It is also the first time an African institution has been awarded global-level award from Global Finance. The Bank also received recognition as the World’s Best Bank for Trade Finance in Mauritius for the second year running.
With 16 out of 22 member states classified by UNCTAD as Least Developed Countries (LDCs), most of the rest considered as lower middle income, and 9 classified by the World Bank as Fragile States, TDB’s region is overall a frontier market.
TDB plays a critical role addressing trade finance shortages via working capital and other trade finance solutions. With its bespoke solutions, the Bank helps its clients to do business and contributes to supporting activities which are critical to the growth of its member states.
Despite the COVID situation, TDB’s trade finance business continued to grow in 2021, playing an ever more important role addressing hard currency availability challenges in the region. The Bank’s trade finance business has contributed to securing the sourcing of vital commodities enhancing productivity and food security, as well as energy security. Likewise, it has helped to boost high-value exports and export diversification, industrialization and technology transfer, as well as forex revenues. Combined with its other operations, TDB has created over 1 million jobs, strengthening the capacity of national and regional financial institutions to support their client base, facilitating greater intra and inter-African trade and regional integration.
This positive trend has been facilitated by the extensive reforms undertaken in recent years in the Bank’s governance structure and the establishment of centres of excellence in risk management, treasury and loan origination processes, which led to investment-grade ratings, and in turn, to the growing appetite of equity and funding partners for TDB opportunities.
In 2021, highlighting its central role in the region availing trade and development finance at times of economic downturns and risk averseness, TDB won various awards from the likes of GTR, African Banker and Global Finance. These have included various country awards, deal-specific awards, and awards celebrating TDB’s resilience, leadership in sustainability, and innovation. More recently in December 2021, TDB President Emeritus and Group MD also won Financial Afrik’s Development Banker of the Year.
