A multi-million dollar trade finance deal is aiming to boost Zimbabwe’s agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $25m credit facility toCentral Africa Building Society (CABS) of Zimbabwe. This will help support the expansion of CABS’ operations providing trade finance to local firms.
The credit will support importation of agro-chemicals, pesticides, farm machinery, spares and equipment, which “Zimbabwe is in dire need of to revive its agricultural and manufacturing sectors”, said the AfDB.
The deal also aims to strengthen the financial sector and generate more tax revenue through import duties and higher corporate profits. The facility is expected to finance around $150m of trade over three-and-a-half years.
The AfDB said the finance was part of a ramping up of measures to reposition Zimbabwe as a major productive centre in the Southern African region.
These measures include supporting the external debt and arrears clearance process, infrastructure rehabilitation in the energy and water and sanitation sectors through the ZimFund and improvements in governance through the Governance and Institutional Support Programme.
The bank said the latest financial intervention was “a strategic milestone” which would “provide greater comfort to other international lenders to offer additional support”.
