Italy’s export credit agency (ECA) Sace has revealed that it has reached a €1bn milestone of insured transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The insurance comes as part of the ECA’s Africa programme, which supports Italian companies’ export and investment activities throughout the African continent.
The oil and gas, energy and transportation sectors all received the most transaction insurance from Sace, which increased the amount of new transactions insured to €286mn in 2009, up by 4% compared to the previous year.
The ECA insures commercial transactions and investments in nearly 40 Sub-Saharan countries, with over half of these seeing more appetite from Sace due to recent improvements in the political and economic environments.
Nine countries are still being approached on a case-by-case basis due to ongoing instability concerns; these include Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Gambia, Liberia, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tomé and Sierra Leone.
Recently, Sace was elected to become a board member of the African Trade Insurance Agency, a move which further integrates the ECA in Sub-Saharan markets.
A Sace spokesperson notes: “There are major development opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa’s markets. Italian companies should consider this area not only as an export destination, but also as an area of production and distribution, where [it is feasible] to relocate production chains or establish joint ventures and enhance their brand.
“Good opportunities will come from countries rich in oil, gas and other raw materials, such as Angola, Nigeria and Uganda, but also by those who have taken up the challenge of greater liberalisation and diversification of the economy, [including] Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana.”
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