UK Export Finance (UKEF) said on Wednesday that it provided over £500 million ($675 million) worth of support for projects in West Africa throughout 2021, the most in over two decades.

UKEF said in a statement that the funds were been deployed to a range of vital infrastructure projects, helping to build major roads and bridges as well as providing medical and IT equipment, design services and environmental and social work.

The export credit agency provided support worth £2.3 billion ($3.1 billion) in the past year to the whole of Africa, more than trebling the amount provided in 2018-19, the statement said.

It noted that UKEF has capacity to provide further support for UK trade in West Africa, with up to £3 billion ($4.1 billion) available in Senegal, £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in Cote D’Ivoire, and up to £2 billion in Nigeria.

In 2021, UKEF also signed its largest-ever deal in the region worth over £200 million ($270 million) to support the construction of six hospitals, with support from UK suppliers, creating jobs in the UK and improving health outcomes in the Côte d’Ivoire

At last week’s Africa Investment Conference (20 January), the Prime Minister said the UK is already one of Africa’s biggest commercial partners but we are “determined to do much more - our shared task must be to ensure that Africa prospers from the green industrial revolution.”

Minister for Investment, Gerry Grimstone, said: “We want more British firms to sell to the world, taking advantage of new opportunities that present themselves in growing markets like this. The potential is huge.”

Examples of successful investments include an over £40 million ($54 million) UKEF guarantee for Gloucestershire firm Mabey Bridge to build 87 emergency bridges used to strengthen flood defences in Ghana, supporting countries suffering from the effects of climate change.

(1 US Dollar = 0.74 GBP)

(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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