Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with eleni LLC (eleni), the leading proponent and developer of commodity exchanges in Africa.<\/p>\n
The move will help establish a cooperative framework to promote and accelerate the development of Africa\u2019s agriculture.<\/p>\n
Albert Essien, Ecobank\u2019s Group Chief Executive, and Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, chief executive officer of eleni, signed the MOU at an official ceremony held during the AfDB\u2019s Annual General Meeting in Kigali today.<\/p>\n
Dr. Gabre-Madhin, a globally recognized thought leader in Africa\u2019s development, is the former founder and CEO of the acclaimed Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), which has garnered various international awards and plaudits, including the Africa Investor Agriculture Initiative of the Year in 2011 and, a first in Africa, the CIO award for IT excellence in business.<\/p>\n
eleni LLC, established with co-founders Keith Thomas and Jawad Ali, is the only proven pioneer building commodity exchanges for frontier markets in Africa, with a demonstrated impact on the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n
The partnership between Ecobank and eleni aims to realize a shared vision of transforming Africa\u2019s competitiveness in global commodity markets, enhancing value addition and processing in the domestic economy and enhancing food security.<\/p>\n
The partnership builds on the synergies between Ecobank\u2019s unrivalled pan-African presence and its commitment to financial inclusion and eleni\u2019s successful track record of creating and operating commodity exchanges in Africa, with projects in Ghana, Cameroon, Mozambique, and Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Ecobank recently announced that it was a keystone investor in the establishment of the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX), eleni\u2019s first major foray in West Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs well as increasing market transparency and reducing transaction costs, commodity exchanges play a crucial role in the monitoring and assessment of risk,\u201d commented Albert Essien, Ecobank\u2019s Group CEO. \u00a0\u201cInstruments such as warehouse receipts reduce uncertainty and improve access to finance across the value chain. We look forward to collaborating further with eleni to enhance Africa\u2019s agricultural financing capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very excited to be working with one of Africa\u2019s leading financial institutions, with a solid pan-African focus, as this opens up a tremendous opportunity to establish the leading platform for commodity-related payments and transactions across the continent,\u201d concluded Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin.<\/p>\n
Source: Ecobank<\/p>\n
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Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with eleni LLC (eleni), the leading proponent and developer of commodity exchanges in Africa. The move will help establish a cooperative framework to promote and accelerate the development of Africa\u2019s agriculture. Albert Essien, Ecobank\u2019s Group Chief Executive, and Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, chief executive officer of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[4],"yoast_head":"\n