Over 230 delegates attended GTR’s 5th Annual East Africa Trade & Commodity Finance Conference, which took place at the Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club Nairobi on May 16-17, 2013.

This comprehensive two-day conference opened with a keynote address by Phumelele Mbiyo, Head of Macroeconomic Research at Stanbic Bank. He addressed the current trends within the East African commodities sector as well as the role of trade in shaping the macroeconomic landscape.

As the biggest trade and commodity finance gathering in East Africa, the conference brought together decision makers from some of the region’s biggest corporate players, such as Kenya Power, Hashi Energy, Gulf Power and Olam International to give their unique insights into today’s market. The event also attracted many local and international delegates from the banking and financial services sectors to discuss liquidity challenges, corporate demand for capital, opportunities and challenges within the energy market, the impact of changing global trade flows and specific industry case studies.

“The economies of East Africa continue to attract attention, despite significant global challenges, with opportunities abound in many sectors,” says the conference producer, Paul Greetham. “With international trade flows developing at an unprecedented rate, the conference was well timed to tackle key market issues and illustrate current commodity market trends.”

Megan McDonald, Director & Head of Structured Trade Finance at Standard Bank, further explained, “We have seen that international commodity traders are increasingly turning to African banks to finance trade transactions as the uncertain global economic conditions, the Eurozone debt crisis and tougher capital requirements are forcing major global banks to pull back their lending in Africa.”

She added that, “Through its operations in key East African markets, Standard Bank has the presence, experience and on-the-ground support to assist clients with the full spectrum of trade finance requirements in the East African region.”

With so many high-level delegates in attendance, networking was a key feature throughout the two-day event. With numerous networking breaks and an evening drinks reception, there will be ample opportunity for anyone serious about doing business in East Africa to create new business contacts and build relationships with the foremost market actors.

“The annual East Africa Trade & Commodity Finance Conference has rightly become a flagship event within the GTR calendar,” says Peter Gubbins, Managing Director of GTR. “Many delegates and supporters return year after year and have helped develop this key industry gathering into a hotbed of contemporary discussion and unrivalled networking. We look forward to facilitating business in the region for many years to come.”

The conference welcomed support from leading institutions, such as Standard Bank, Barclays, Ecobank, FIMBank, Nedbank Capital, Afreximbank, ITFC, Mauritius Commercial Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Ace Global, PTA Bank, NIC Bank, Volante, ETG and Codix. The event is proud to have institutional partnerships with the IFC and the East African Business Council.