THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICAN TRADE FUND (ESATF) CELEBRATES 4 YEARS OF ADVANCING TRADE IN AFRICA
The Eastern and Southern African Trade Fund (ESATF) celebrated its 4th year anniversary this week at the Caudan Arts Centre in Port-Louis, Mauritius, with current and prospective investors.
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Trade and Development Bank
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Port-Louis, 3 August 2023 – Since its launch in August 2019, ESATF has grown its assets under management (AUM) to USD 128 million while delivering a robust 7.52% return over the last 12 months, and 19.66% since inception. ESATF is an open-ended fund comprising of short-term trade finance assets; it targets money market type financial returns and offers short-term liquidity with a 3 months-notice period.
The fund has attracted a diverse range of investors, including banking institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, and high-net-worth individuals. This diverse investor base extends across different regions in Africa and highlights their confidence in the commercial approach and expertise of Eastern and Southern Africa Trade Advisers Limited (ESATAL), ESATF’s fund manager.
Through targeted strategies, ESATAL, via ESATF, has been able to support and stimulate various economic and trade sectors in the continent, including West Africa. Notably, the fund has allocated 15% of its portfolio to trading enterprises in Mauritius, supporting commercial development and the Mauritian financial sector. The fund’s financing activities have facilitated the creation of new employment opportunities, the promotion of innovation, and fostered trade, contributing to the region’s economic growth and development.
ESATF is firmly committed to sustaining its ongoing growth through expansion into new African economies, giving priority to structured commodity finance and export finance.
Admassu Tadesse, TDB Group President Emeritus and Managing Director said: “As we celebrate the 4th anniversary of the Eastern and Southern Africa Trade Fund (ESATF), we reflect on our growth and triple bottom line impact, including financial returns with low volatility and benchmarked to short-term money market returns. This achievement is testament to the responsiveness of African multilateral financial institutions to the large and growing trade financing gaps in Africa, where there has been curtailed access to international correspondent banking services and related international bank exits from many African banking markets. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our various investors, notably BADEA, as well as to our other partners and dedicated teams who have played an integral role in this institutional innovation and success story. Together we have helped close some of these pressing gaps and enabled more international trade with Africa, including more intra-African trade. We look forward to growing the fund further in the years to come”.
Daniel Lam Chun, ESATAL Deputy CEO said: “With a presence in 15 African countries thus far, ESATF remains committed to enhancing intra-African trade and facilitating commercial exchanges with international markets. Equipped with a robust pipeline of deals across the continent, the fund is determined to continue fostering trade-led sustainable socio-economic development through a focused trade finance strategy which appeals to a wide spectrum of global investors, motivated by the dual objectives of steady returns and impact in some of the fastest-growing economies in the world.”
About TDB, ESATAL and ESATF
Established in 1985, the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) is a regional development finance institution, with investment grade ratings and assets of USD 8.4bn. TDB serves 25 member states in its region, with the mandate to finance and foster trade, regional economic integration and sustainable development, through trade finance, project and infrastructure finance and asset management.
Eastern and Southern African Trade Advisers Limited (ESATAL) is a subsidiary of TDB Group, and manager of the Eastern and Southern African Trade Fund (ESATF), a trade finance fund which focuses on advancing trade-led economic and social development via the financing of short to medium-term trade transactions, including those of SMEs. ESATAL and ESATF are part of TDB Group’s asset and fund management activities which are focused on the design, origination, and growth of stand-alone investment vehicles for a wide range of investors and development partners.
ESATAL is a limited liability company, based in Mauritius, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Commission (Mauritius). ESATAL has been granted a Category 1 Global Business Licence (C1/GBL, Company No 128925) under Section 72(6) of the Financial Services Act, and has a CIS Manager Licence pursuant to Section 98 of the Securities Act 2005 and the Financial Services (Consolidated Licensing and Fees) Rules 2008.
TDB is part of TDB Group, which also comprises the Trade and Development Fund (TDF), Eastern and Southern African Trade Advisers Limited (ESATAL), TDB Captive Insurance Company (TCI), and the TDB Academy.
