Financial Products & Services

Despite the presence of numerous financial institutions and a seemingly ample supply of financial services, private sector firms in all countries in the region cite difficulty in obtaining financial services that are appropriately priced, and at appropriate levels.

Many of the countries in the region have experienced some growth in the agriculture sector, and there is increased mobility on the part of agricultural skills in the region, especially from Zimbabwe and South Africa, moving to where there are more promising eco-climatic conditions (and a more favourable political environment).Opportunities to trade agricultural commodities intra and extra-regionally, have also increased. However, in most cases, these opportunities have been constrained by access to finance.

Trade Hub Takes Regional Agricultural Firms to SA Trade Show

02 August 2012
nampoFrom May 15-16, SATH facilitated a visit of farmers and other agricultural stakeholders, including banks, investment promotion agencies and commodity traders, to the 2012 NAMPO Agricultural Trade Show in South Africa, the largest agricultural trade show in Africa.

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Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa – Upgrade of Small and Medium Transaction Product Offering

Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa – Upgrade of Small and Medium Transaction Product Offering

03 May 2012
Financial Products & Services
The overall objective of this report is to identify ways in which the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC) of South Africa's Small and Medium Transaction (SMT) can improve its product offering and its uptake.
Fact finding carried out with financial intermediaries (FIs), exporters and buyers in South Africa (SA), Zambia and Mozambique revealed that: the SMT product would be utilized much more if the implementation process leading to closing is streamlined and simplified; South African FIs are keen to provide, and FIs in Zambia and Mozambique are keen to receive, long-term loans with ECIC cover, which could fund medium and long-term loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in those countries that would finance importation of South African goods; non-bank FIs in SA are very interested in partnering with ECIC; and SA exporters need better structured and targeted pre-shipment, working capital financing.
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Study on Private Equity in Agribusiness in Southern Africa

Study on Private Equity in Agribusiness in Southern Africa

03 May 2012
Financial Products & Services
The overall objective of this report is to identify potential interventions to enhance the capacity of newly created private equity funds in agriculture and/or agribusiness in Africa, especially the stimulation of technical assistance to agricultural value chains.
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Let Africa Trade With Africa

Let Africa Trade With Africa

02 May 2012
Financial Products & Services | Trade Liberalization | Agricultural Value Chains | Trade Facilitation
In Africa, non-tariff trade barriers raise transaction costs and limit the movement of goods, services, people and capital across borders. To further development, African governments must embrace regional integration, break down these barriers and help Africans trade with each other.
Report on Principles and Standards for the Harmonization of the Listing Rules of SADC Stock Exchanges

Report on Principles and Standards for the Harmonization of the Listing Rules of SADC Stock Exchanges

31 December 2011
Financial Products & Services | Enabling Environment | Investment

This report is a follow-up to a number of activities that have been initiated to support the harmonization of the listing rules of the stock exchanges in the SADC region. The initial work focused on the analysis of gaps in listing rules using the JSE listing rules as a benchmark.

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Trade Hub signs MoU with ECIC

15 July 2011

sathsignsmouOn June 13, the USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub (SATH) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa Limited (ECIC).

In its capacity as the official export credit agency of South Africa, ECIC facilitates the provision of trade credit and investment within the Southern Africa (SADC) region. Inter-company credit is the main source of the world's commercial credit. In providing trade credit, suppliers afford their customers the ability to generate revenue before paying; however, in the process they assume the commercial and political risks of their customers and bear the additional costs of financing working capital for an extended period. Trade credit insurance not only shields suppliers from possible default by their customers, but it also allows suppliers to sell more goods on credit terms to customers, thereby increasing trade volumes.

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Southern African Agricultural Stakeholders Discuss GMOs in Agricultural Development

04 June 2011

SACAU_News

Close to a hundred stakeholders representing farmers, food security experts, seed traders, researchers, development agencies and regulators convened at Vereeniging, South Africa to deliberate various papers at the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) Policy Conference on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Agricultural Development – a perspective of farmers in Southern Africa. Topics covered included GMOs in the context of biotech in agriculture; pro-GMO and anti-GMO perspectives; market access/trade issues; consumer perspectives; existing policy frameworks; and, recent technological advances in the area.

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Product Innovation and Access to Finance in Africa

Product Innovation and Access to Finance in Africa

01 November 2009
Financial Products & Services

Untitled document

The paper discusses how an appropriate response by regulators can support the potential for innovative products to improve access to finance, and argues that regulators need to respond to new products and business models with a response that does not inhibit innovation and is appropriately calibrated to risk.

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