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EXIM BANK; BUILDING NETWORKS IS KEY TO STRUCTURING NEW AREAS OF INVESTMENTS

20 May 2015
ITC News

Mr. Yaduvendra Mathur, Chairman & Managing Director, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) addressed SITA stakeholders, partners and meeting participants in Surajkund at the Implementation Partners Meeting. In his address Mr. Mathur stressed the importance that “network creation” played during the project’s design phase. He said that the network created and will result in a quick-start to SITA’s implementation. Mr. Mathur said: “I think over the last four meetings at: Nairobi, Kigali, Addis Ababa and here in Surajkund bridges have been built. There is enough traction amongst stakeholders from the SITA countries; contacts have been built, people are aware”.

With SITA’s implementation phase underway the preparatory work undertaken demonstrates that the project is collaborative which will translate into real investments. He recognized DFID’s work as innovative, SITA being a proof of this.

Mr. Mathur urged SITA’s partners, stakeholders and participants to take advantage of the project’s framework as well and to ensure that India and East Africa continue strengthening the bridges built to ensure expanded trade, enhanced investment and greater sharing in knowledge, expertise and technology. Mr. Mathur highlighted that learning is a two-way exchange – India can learn as much from Africa as Africa can learn from India. In this context Mr. Mathur shared his personal experience in observing public conservancy in Kigali, during his visit to that city in 2014 for the African Development Bank annual meeting, had resulted in new ideas that he used in supporting the “Clean India Programme” back home.

EXIM takes pride in structuring new areas of investments, Mr. Mathur stated, and reassured partners and participants that EXIM Bank was fully on board in SITA. “Let us actually hit the ground running now. We actually want bankable projects; we want to see those partners who want to invest in any of the SITA African countries. Similarly please also consider investing in India” were his encouraging words to the audience.

SITA’s framework encompasses trade and investment, Mr. Mathur said, “the challenges are not only of accessing trade finance but also on building relationships with those partner countries, at the government level and actually engaging the whole value chain”.

Mr. Mathur acknowledged ITC’s Executive Director, Arancha Gonzalez’s, leadership in ensuring that SITA widened its scope to t include emerging sectors. “Unlocking investments in medical services is a very exciting possibility”, Mr. Mathur said, and concluded “EXIM Bank is ready to work”!