This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.
We have now exited this investment. This is what we achieved.
Achieved impact
This facility primarily supported transactions in the private sector in markets such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Cameroon, with a focus on commodities related trade, capital equipment and food and agriculture-related trades.
During the life of the programme, we played a pivotal role in unlocking trade flows by broadening access to trade finance for smaller, local banks in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Cameroon, as well as in Malawi, Mali, and Mauritania. By increasing limits between confirming and issuing banks, this enabled firms previously excluded from global value chains to participate in international trade, contributing to increased productivity, job creation, and economic inclusion across underserved markets. The total value of trade supported through this program is $284 million across 28 transactions.
In 2024, we provided Afreximbank with training to implement a new limit framework for onboarding banks in the lower-income and more fragile countries where we invest. By strengthening the bank's limit-setting capabilities, we helped enhance its geographic reach and institutional capacity to serve underserved markets more effectively.
Expected impact
We invested in Afreximbank in the form of a risk sharing guarantee programme to promote trade across Africa.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
|---|
Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions in maintaining and increasing trade finance for businesses (SDG 8.1, 8.10, 9.3) |
|
|
How?
| How? |
|---|
|
BII's investment into Afrexim bank directly contributes to impact by supporting the expansion of its trade finance programme across sub-Saharan Africa, helping smaller local issuing banks, particularly in underserved Alpha and Beta countries, access critical financing. Indirectly, this supports broader economic development by facilitating trade flows, improving financial inclusion, and strengthening local firms’ integration into global value chains, especially in regions where trade finance gaps and banking relationship losses have been most acute. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Owners, employees and customers |
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, and Nigeria |
No visibility on end beneficiaries (employees or customers) but given country profiles we can assume mass market characteristics across the target countries. |
How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
|
No visibility on end beneficiaries so we estimate trade enabled by the facility as a proxy, which is estimated to be US$284m |
The duration of the facility is 36 months. Underlying transaction tenors are a maximum of 1 year. The duration of the impact of the trades themselves on consumers and firms will depend on the underlying goods. Depth is difficult to assess but impact is expected to be deeper in smaller lower-income and more fragile countries. |
Risk
Execution RiskRisk that the facility will be underutilized. Drop-Off RiskRisk that once BII’s facility terminates, the bank will be limited by its single obligor limits and revert back to original levels of risk taking/lending. |
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
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Key facts
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2026
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D1834
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Exited
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- Africa
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- Africa
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Financial services
- Sub sector
:
The sub-sector that the investment is made into; this provides a more granular level of detail than the ‘sector’ information
- Consumer Finance
- Investment policy :
- Growth
- Investment type :
- Guarantee
- Start date :
- November 2018
- End date :
- June 2025
- Amount :
- $100m
- Currency of investment :
- USD
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- Egypt
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
Type of investment portfolio that each investment is made under. Since 2014, we have run two investment portfolios: Catalyst and Growth. In addition, our Kinetic Portfolio enables us to manage concessional investment strategies.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- Last updated
