GBRW was contracted by Expertise France to support BDEAC in defining its role in trade finance and identifying what the necessary conditions would be for a successful implementation of these trade finance activities.
BDEAC is the development bank of the Communauté Économique et Monétaire des États de l’Afrique Centrale (CEMAC), which comprises six countries: Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea. BDEAC is a publicly funded institution mandated to foster economic development in CEMAC.
BDEAC is looking to close market gaps in CEMAC by supporting international trade in and out of the region, as well as developing intra-regional trade, which today is very limited. At the same time, expanding into trade finance would diversify BDEAC’s portfolio and add another profitable product line to its activity.
At the request of BDEAC, the assignment was carried out entirely in French by GBRW’s French speaking team, this included all materials and deliverables.
Key deliverables:
The project was delivered in two phases. The first phase analysed the market opportunities and strategic options for BDEAC in trade finance. Deliverables included:
- Analysis of the economic environment (major trends in trade finance, economic presentation of CEMAC)
- Market study (potential for trade finance in the six countries members of CEMAC)
- Institutional framework inside CEMAC and consequences of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
- Products and services in trade finance
- Analysis of competition: development and commercial banks’ activity in CEMAC
The second phase mapped out the required resources necessary to begin the trade finance activities. These included:
- BDEAC trade finance strategy and positioning
- Organisational needs
- Technological pre-requisites
- Human resources
