Ecobank Group, a leading private pan-African banking company and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a pan-African multilateral financial organisation established to support and encourage trade both within and outside of Africa have partnered to integrate Ecobank’s Single Market Trade Hub and Afreximbank’s MANSA Digital Repository Platform to streamline trade and compliance for African firms.
The announcement of this partnership was made by Ecobank in a press release on December 20.
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African firms to benefit from Afreximbank’s MANSA platform and Ecobank’s Single Market Trade Hub shared services
African companies will gain from the partnership’s smooth shared services between the two platforms. MANSA platform users will be able to connect directly to the Single Market Trade Hub to investigate trade opportunities to grow their businesses throughout Africa, while Single Market Trade Hub users will be able to quickly access MANSA’s extensive database for effective know-thy-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) checks.
Through a single platform, the Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub links registered firms throughout Africa, enabling them to take advantage of opportunities in the 1.4 billion-person unified market established by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
While its online match-making feature allows importers and exporters to upload their profiles and showcase goods and services they offer or wish to source to find partners within Africa, it also acts as a one-stop repository for the AfCFTA by giving corporates and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) information about the agreement.
Following the discovery of a match, contacts are established using the platform, and the transaction may be completed by utilising Ecobank’s payment and trade solutions in 35 African markets.
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What you need to know about Afreximbank’s MANSA Digital Repository Platform
For due diligence issues about any African entity, the MANSA Digital Repository Platform, or MANSA, is a one-stop shop.
As a centralised digital repository, MANSA aims to boost trade both inside and between Africa and the rest of the globe while also eradicating information asymmetry.
It encourages African SMEs to adopt a culture of good governance, makes their companies more visible, and helps African organisations grow, diversify, and enhance the value of their exports both domestically and abroad.
To utilise additional Afreximbank goods and activities, entities that are onboarded to MANSA are given an Africa Entity Identifier (AEI) code.
The Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) marketplace, which houses a suite of digital platforms intended to function as a single window to help Afreximbank better fulfil its mandate by offering vital services to support and promote intra-African trade and the implementation of the AfCFTA, also features MANSA as a key digital solution.
By using verified information on reliable counterparties, the platform helps African organisations to expedite their business operations at the ATG marketplace.
As a result of the new partnership, Ecobank and Afreximbank are now able to offer a single solution to the major problems of KYC compliance and business access across 35 African nations.
It is anticipated that the enhanced interoperability will promote greater financial and economic integration on the continent by significantly streamlining cross-border trade and compliance in Africa.