African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has agreed to a $300 million African Collaborative Transit Guarantee (AATGS) with Nairobi-based ZEP-RE.

The signing of the term sheet took place at the ongoing third edition of Africa’s largest trade and investment fair, IATF 2023, in Cairo, Egypt.

The facility aims to boost ZEP-RE’s capacity to support primary and national sureties issuing transit bonds to eligible clients under the COMESA regional customs transit guarantee scheme.

Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, at Afreximbank, signed the agreement on behalf of the Bank while Ronald Kasapatu, Director of Government Relations, Partnerships, Agriculture, and Micro Insurance at ZEP-RE, represented the regional reinsurer.

The partnership aims to improve sureties’ capacity, reduce risk exposure, facilitate trade, promote African industries’ participation, mitigate non-transit import risks, boost industry performance, and reduce insurance sector volatility.

It will also diversify the Bank’s trade facilitation instruments, deepen the Afreximbank African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme (AATGS), and increase revenue for customs authorities in transit countries.