Afreximbank has loaned €5.64mn to Côte d’Ivoire transport and logistics firm Société Ivoirienne de Manutention et de Transit (SIMAT).

The loan is structured as a medium-term equipment import financing facility with a tenor of five years, Kanayo Awani, director trade finance and branches at Afreximbank tells GTR.

The receivables-backed facility will also have a grace period of one year from when the agreement was signed.
Afreximbank selected SIMAT because it meets the bank’s target criteria for direct financing, Awani adds.

“Its services align with Afreximbank’s strategic objectives to support local service providers and notably its services support the import and export of goods crucial to the Ivorian economy.”

SIMAT has earmarked the loan for financing its importation of equipment for marine, air transit and handling services.

The money will also be used to refinance existing debt and pay local suppliers.

The company is working on contracts across a number of sectors, ranging from cocoa to oil and gas and manufacturing. It also works with a range of companies including ADM, Barry Callebaut, Chevron, Condicaf, Nestle, SAF-CACAO, and Unilever.

Afreximbank has stepped in to finance SIMAT while business conditions in the West African nation remain challenging.

There is lack of availability of medium and long-term capital available in the Côte d’Ivoire at the moment, Awani outlines, and where it is available – it is expensive.