Afreximbank launches Mansa, the African digital platform that aims to boost intra-continental trade.
The launch ceremony took place this Thursday afternoon at the Transcorop Hilton Abuja, where are held the 25th General Meetings of the African Bank Import-Export (Afreximbank). President Benedict Oramah, accompanied by former Afreximbank President Jean Louis Ekra, inaugurated Mansa, the new African digital platform. Objective, boost intra-continental trade.
“Mansa will serve as the leading directory and reliable source of information on Costumer Due Diligence in relation to African companies, financial institutions, semi-public and related entities. The goal of the Mansa platform is to facilitate access to the information needed to drive the “Know your Customer” process, the fight against money laundering, counterterrorism developments, thus reducing the costs of compliance in African trade and project finance transactions, “said Dr. Oramah.
What does Mansa mean? Back in history. It is indeed the title attributed to the Emperor of Mali between the 13th and 14th century. The first to display it was the famous Soundiata Keita. “He was a great trader and that’s the spirit we want to highlight by choosing this name,” Dr Georges Elombi, Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, told a news conference.
The platform is the culmination of four long years of work at Afreximbank, according to Maureen N. Mba, Associate Director Compliance. The project, whose cost “important” remains secret, has required the recruitment of many computer scientists.
“We have set up this platform to help the 450 million SMEs that suffer across the continent,” she said, stressing the availability of clear business information would boost the confidence of banks that have have often been cautious about SME loan applications.
According to Afreximbank, the implementation of Mansa is also the fruit of a concerted work with “all the governments” of the Continent, “so that this platform is not only for the business world, but for all users” .
“Our new Mansa platform is a natural extension of Afreximbank’s mission to expand, develop, and diversify African commerce,” said Dr. Oramah, noting that Mansa will enhance African commerce by enabling effective customer integration. reducing the operational workload and compliance costs for all stakeholders.
For the development of Mansa, Afreximbank works in partnership with several international institutions including the African Development Bank (ADB), the Federal Bank of New York, the African Finance Corporation and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
La Tribune
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