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Add to Preferred SourcesIFC, a member of the World Bank Group, on March 16 signed an agreement to provide a trade facility to Yemen’s Alkuraimi Islamic Bank to support trade flows of critical goods to the country and boost access to finance for businesses.
IFC’s support comes at a critical time for Yemen, which is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated the situation, disrupting global supply chains and production, and dampening business activity.
The trade finance guarantee facility is part of IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP), which extends and complements the capacity of banks to deliver trade financing by providing risk mitigation in new or challenging markets where trade lines may be constrained.
“We aim to have financial and banking services to be accessible to everyone in Yemen to help raise living standards and reduce poverty,” said Youssef Alkuraimi from Alkuraimi Islamic Bank. “IFC’s trade facility will help us further deepen our efforts to support Yemeni businesses and develop our trade financing operations.”
IFC also provided advisory services to the bank to support its activities in trade finance.
“This new project with our long-term partner is an important step in our broader efforts to support Yemen’s private sector during this difficult time,” said Walid Labadi, IFC’s country manager for Yemen, Libya, and Egypt. “The facility announced today will help expand access to finance, and increase imports of vital commodities to help alleviate poverty and stimulate economic growth in the country.”
Under its GTFP, IFC has to date issued guarantees covering over 70,000 transactions globally for more than $73 billion.