Exploring opportunities to boost Africa’s economic growth at GTR Africa

As Africa’s largest bank by assets, Standard Bank remains committed to seeking out opportunities and engagements that will have an impact on our continent’s long-term growth and development. We believe that we have a responsibility to leverage our expertise and lend our voice to events and forums that connect Africa to the world and the world to Africa.

As such, Standard Bank is proud to announce that we will once again be participating at the 18th annual Global Trade Review (GTR) Africa conference, set to take place in Cape Town on 7–8 March.

The conference has become one of the premier events for those seeking critical market insights.  It offers attendees an unrivalled perspective, with over 70 expert speakers and an exhibition hall, which provides opportunities to network and connect with industry leaders and peers.

Some of the key topics being covered include:

• Beyond the 2024 elections: The South African trade and investment outlook
• Setting standards: In pursuit of a fair framework for African trade finance
• Maintaining liquidity for sovereign infrastructure projects
• Strategic natural resources: Adding value in Africa
• Supply chain optimisation and releasing working capital
• Mitigating climate risks to boost agribusiness financing.

Our very own Shaahien Mottiar, Head: Portfolio Management Transaction Banking will be participating in a panel focusing on High stakes transition: The role of trade in reshaping Africa’s participation in the new global economy.

The panel will discuss the opportunity to reposition African markets within evolving transitional supply chains is potentially transformational, but one tempered by the impact of increasingly multipolar geopolitics, severe macroeconomic headwinds, hardened financial markets, and the unintended consequences of global regulation on the continent. The opening discussion will explore the complex set of opportunities and risks this presents, how the trade, export and development finance sectors can support the resilience of Africa’s economies today, and bolster efforts to realise the potential for economic diversification offered by an evolving global trade landscape:

• BRICS, MENA and the West: How is the business of geopolitics shaping opportunities for industrialisation and economic diversification in the medium term?
• Outlook on debt sustainability and FX challenges: Which markets are showing signs of improvement, and which are expected to struggle?
• Emerging trends: Asia as a growth export market and increased interest in the continent from Middle Eastern investors and financiers
• Climate finance: Prospects for inbound investment and trade in transitional infrastructure and climate adaptation
• To what extent is the regulatory environment (financing; sustainability) becoming more challenging? How does the opportunity/ risk balance stand as regards opportunities vs compliance challenges?
• How can Africa’s public and private sectors capitalise on the global trade and investment shift? Are governance and capacity building the key growth enablers for African institutions and businesses?

Justin Milo, Head: Trade, South Africa will be moderating the panel focusing on Unleashing the full potential of Africa’s supply chains: Supplier finance as a critical ingredient for intraregional trade growth.

Supply chain financing (SCF) has proven an invaluable source of working capital across the globe, further offering the opportunity to remedy hard currency availability issues, but uptake to date in Africa has been subdued. A case of an opportunity missed, or can more be done to increase the value proposition to African companies? This discussion will offer insight on the benefits domestic and regional supplier finance programmes can offer to suppliers’ financial resilience, the role of technology in delivering supplier financing structures, and the hurdles preventing wider uptake: Which structures work in the region, and what can be done to enhance products and processes to better align with the needs of anchor buyers and their suppliers? Which barriers are encountered by SCF providers, and should banks take a more innovative approach to deploying SCF structures within an imperfect regulatory environment?

Rentia Van Tonder:  Head, Power, Energy and Infrastructure, will be participating in a panel focusing on Gas to power: A key piece in Africa’s orderly, just energy transition?​

Energy poverty is one of the continent’s most pressing problems, with an estimated 44% of Africa’s population unable to access electricity: ending energy poverty is a crucial enabler of the economic growth and industrialisation so critical to the social aspects of Africa’s sustainable development. Renewables are an important part of Africa’s energy mix, but only part of the solution. Cleaner than coal and fuel oil and a well suited back up to inconsistent supplies of energy, gas powered electricity plants can be less capital intensive and quicker to develop, offering a pragmatic way to both address energy poverty and reduce carbon emissions. This session will assess the potential of gas-to-power initiatives to play a greater role in Africa’s energy mix, and the investment and financing challenges that must be overcome if this is to be realised:

• Profiling the transformational impact of successful sector development, from domestic energy security and economic diversification, to supplying Africa, Europe and further afield
• The ESG challenge: Is there a mismatch between global ESG biases and on-the-ground realities in Africa? Can (and should) gas-to-power be viewed as a viable element of a just energy transition?
• Infrastructure investment: Which policy provisions are required to encourage FDI into the sector?
• With commercial banks and ECAs phasing out financing support for fossil fuel projects, which sources of finance can be leveraged to facilitate the necessary infrastructure development?

Greg Fyfe: Head, ECA & Energy Transition Solutions will be part of a panel looking into Export finance evolution: New ways of channelling trade liquidity into Africa.

Critical mineral procurement and food and energy security are driving the geoeconomic agendas of governments around the globe, with Export Credit Agency mandates increasingly reflecting the strategic importance of supply chains: the deployment of new ECA-backed financing tools is driving a convergence between the export finance market and commodity / trade debt. From enhanced direct lending capabilities to untied ‘shopping line’ financings and critical mineral guarantees, ECAs are taking a more competitive, direct and flexible approach as geopolitical volatility and global decarbonisation necessitate the redrawing of supply lines across the global economy. The expert speakers on this panel will offer perspectives on the direction of travel for product developments across the export and agency financing market, assessing the opportunities offered by the growth of untied and noncontract specific ECA support to both public and private sectors across Africa, as well as the banking and private insurance players participating in African deals.

We pride ourselves on driving conversations that have the potential to create tangible growth and opportunities for our continent and her people. We are excited to once again be contributing to a platform that is designed to promote economic growth and seeks to find ways to help Africa thrive. 

We look forward to engaging with various stakeholders and leveraging our insights and expertise on how our continent’s sustainable growth can be achieved.