Bank Of Africa Named Two Separate “best Bank In Trade Finance” Awards

The latest news says Bank of Africa-Ghana (BOA - Ghana) has been titled “2022 Trade Finance Bank of the Year” by two reliable awarding schemes - the Innovation and Excellence Awards, and the Ghana Credit Excellence Awards 2022.

These awards are held by renowned institutions, the International Centre for Strategic Alliances (ICSA) and the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM). Both of these institutions admired BOA for its exceptional commitment to advancing international trade and trade finance services for SMEs (small- and medium-scale enterprises).

According to the management board of the bank, the acknowledgment by these two institutions certifies the bank’s position as the leading Trade Finance institution, as it was likewise pronounced “Trade Finance Bank of the Year” at the 2021 Ghana Accountancy and Finance Awards last year. Earlier, Ecobank was announced ‘Best Trade Finance Bank In West Africa’ by GTR.

The Executive Director for Business Development, William Boateng, repeated the conscious endeavors and product offerings developed by the bank to establish it as a lead trade finance bank on the continent, utilizing its existing infrastructure and presence in over 20 African nations as well as other continents.

He referenced that in these difficult times when the whole trade ecosystem on the continent is in danger - because of the currency deterioration and high inflation rates among others - the capacity to in any case uphold organizations and keep them feasible is what stakeholders consider. Therefore, to be perceived for the bank’s efforts towards Trade is a declaration that the endeavors and inputs are yielding results and show how sound the bank’s foundations are.

“What has empowered these victories chalked up throughout the course of recent years is that we realized our capacity in terms of our Group network on the African continent, Asia, and America, and then decided to utilize it to make Trade an important factor of the bank’s strategy. The fundamental frameworks were available and the establishment was strong, hence the essential task then was to bring on board the crucial skills and expertise to blend all of the competitive advantages - which was done competently. The acknowledgment by our partners and clients in such a “back to back” honor is not something achieved out of a vacuum, instead, it is a productive result of skill and impressions of our obligation to serve clients to satisfaction.” he said.

Head of Cross-Border Trade & Business Synergy, Musah Abdul-Rahman, on his roll stated that a vital variable to its success is the bank taking a keen interest in receiving feedback from clients. “We utilize this feedback to evaluate the impact and value of our products & services. The bank’s failure to cater to the specific requirements of our clients is considered as a task to return to the planning phase and find solutions which later feed into the bank's essential turn of events.”

SME Financing

According to the Executive Director for Business Development, BOA-Ghana has been encouraging SMEs and exporters with trade financing over the years. He pointed out that SMEs hold the majority of businesses in Ghana’s economy and tend to face the brunt of any economic difficulties, thus BOA is willing to advance more financing into the SME space.

“This is a better time to appreciate SMEs more, and we are prepared for them in terms of trade finance support. We believe all of them to come on board and rest assured of our support. In 2023, we are reforming some of our branches to be SME-friendly and provide special attention to SMEs which are looking for trade finance support, business advisory assistance, and other technical support required,” Mr. William Boateng stated.

Mr. Abdul-Rahman repeated that the bank's obligation to SMEs is a journey and not a one-off event. “We maintain that each SME client that visits we should be happy with our administrations and turn our ambassador, educating different organizations regarding how strong and customized our administrations are. So, we have conscious plans in the approaching year devoted to securing SME organizations,” he said.

He encouraged SMEs to stick to global guidelines, and makers of comparative merchandise to team up to have great economies of scale and the upper hand in international trade.

Recommended Read: Trade Finance Gap & its Effects on SMEs

Africa Continental Free Trade Area Support as Best Trade Finance

As an African bank with worldwide reach, trade support to crucial sectors of the economy - including SMEs, oil & gas among others - has been an important point of concentration of the bank, and with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now in progress, the bank has kept up with its obligation to supporting SMEs and organizations enter the market.

Mr. Boateng explained that to offer international trade for both exporters & importers, BOA-Ghana is incorporating the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) system into the system of the Bank.

Furthermore, he referenced that the bank has been steady with the AfCFTA since its commencement and will proceed to work and team up with the secretariat to carry out drives that advance global trade for a prosperous Africa.

In his message to clients of BOA-Ghana, Mr. William Boateng said: "We want our clients to be glad for being an essential part of the BOA brand. We guarantee them that we will keep on Major areas of strength as a Group and as Close as a partner”.

Source: https://thebftonline.com/2022/11/21/bank-of-africa-bags-two-separate-best-bank-in-trade-finance-awards/

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