The Nigeria-based pan-Africa multilateral development financial institution has committed to funding up to 50 percent of the facility and mobilizing the rest through its network of international partners and investors, the AFC said in a statement issued in Abuja, Nigeria's capital.
The facility will be disbursed via loans from the AFC to select commercial banks, regional development banks and central banks in various African countries, providing them with much-needed hard currency liquidity to finance trade and other economic activities in their various jurisdictions, said the statement.
These institutions will leverage the AFC's proven access to global funding to access financing at competitive rates, according to the statement.
"The COVID-19 pandemic set back Africa's economic growth trajectory and further widened the trade financing gap," said Banji Fehintola, AFC head of treasury and financial institutions in the statement, adding before the continent could get over that, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has brought with it a new set of challenges.
"We are determined to play a leading role in shaping the continent's recovery and resilience, not only through the work we do in bridging Africa's infrastructure gap but also through targeted interventions such as this 2 billion dollars COVID-19 economic resilience facility," he added.
The AFC, created by some African countries in 2007, is tasked to provide pragmatic solutions to Africa's infrastructure deficit and challenging operating environment.
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