Rwandan and regional importers and exporters could soon find more sources of funding following plans by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (commonly known as PTA Bank) and GML Capital to form an African-focused trade finance investment fund.

The Eastern and Southern African Trade Fund is expected to be open for subscriptions early next year, according to a press statement released by the two firms.

"It will be an open-ended fund and will seek to provide secure and stable investment returns, uncorrelated with mainstream asset classes, while also pursuing social and development goals in Africa in reducing poverty and transferring financial expertise to entrepreneurs on the continent,” Admassu Tadesse, the PTA Bank president and Stefan Pinter, the chief executive officer of GML Capital, said.

The new investment fund that will provide trade finance support to exporters and importers in PTA Bank’s 18 African member states will be its first project, they added in a statement.

PTA Bank has membership from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) trade bloc; Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

"This fund will make a significant contribution towards addressing the trade financing deficit in Eastern and Southern Africa. It will also help leverage regional, international, private and public sources of capital and facilitate regional trade and economic integration that is in line with the mandate of PTA Bank,” Tadesse noted in the statement.

The announcement was made during the launch of the Eastern and Southern African Trade Advisers Limited, a fund manager jointly owned and managed by the two institutions, will be based in Mauritius.

The partnership with GML Capital, a London-based specialist emerging market investment manager, brings together two institutions with extensive knowledge of the region and significant expertise to tailor-make innovative financing solutions for intra and extra-regional trade.

Stefan Pinter, the chief executive officer of GML Capital, said the initiative will provide the much-needed additional trade financing for socio-economic and environmental development.

Mohammed Muzimpaka, an importer and chairman of the Chamber of Commerce at the Private Sector Federation, said the fund could enhance competitiveness in the investment financing segment.

"It will be an alternative source of funding for investors seeking long-term and affordable credit… In fact it’s timely, and will enable the private sector efforts to deliver the country’s economic development objectives,” Muzimpaka said.

Jean Baptiste Bizimana, an importer, said the initiative is a huge relief and will help the business community, especially importers and exporters, access capital development finance to expand their ventures.

Headquartered in Bujumbura-Burundi, PTA Bank is one of the largest providers of trade finance in the Comesa region.  GML Capital has 25 years of experience working in Africa, as well as 18 years of fund management experience.