The Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) held its 27th session on Friday 18 December 2009 in Accra, at the M-PLAZA Hotel.

The deliberations of the Board of Directors centered on the approval of the financing of eight projects amounting to a total of UA 37.62 million equivalent to USD 58.51 million. This amount is shared between the public sector and the private sector respectively to the tune of 31% and 69%.

These Commitments relate to three financial projects, one agro-industrial project, and four infrastructural projects. The beneficiary countries are Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina-Faso, Ghana, and Togo.

The projects approved include the equity participation in the African Agricultural Fund (AAF) in the amount of UA 3.21 million or USD 5 million. In view of challenges to be addressed on the one hand in the food sector, and the constraints of existing investment funds, the establishment of the AAF is an initiative that has great significance for the Continent.

EBID supports this project since the development of agriculture constitutes one of its priorities.
Furthermore, the Board adopted the 2010 budget, the reports of its standing committees, namely, the Committee on Remuneration and Human Resources, the Audit Committee and the Risks and Credit Committee

The report on the situation of the Bank as at 3O September 2009 was also examined and adopted. According to the report, the Bank’s activities aimed at enhancing its interventions in favour of Member States of ECOWAS, improving the management of the Institution and intensifying its resource mobilization initiatives for project financing.

As at 30 September 2009, the total commitments of the Bank in favour of the Member States of the Community amounted to UA 462.52 million (US$ 702.69 million) as against the amount of UA 384.69 million (USD 584.45 million) as at 31 December 2008. Thus, the commitment of the Bank in 2009 represented an increase of 20.23% over those of 2008. With respect to the financial situation, the Bank continues to post profit in its operations thereby enhancing its capital base.

As the financial arm of ECOWAS, EBID plays a very important role in the integration and the economic development of the sub-region, by intensifying the mobilization of resources and the granting of loans, the Bank is working towards the development of the public sector and the emergence of the private sector which is considered as the engine of growth in our States.

Accra, 18th December 2009

Press contact: Sibi LAWSON AGBEKPONOU
Head of Communication and Marketing Unit – EBID
Tel: 00228 221 68 64 – Email: sagbekponou@bidc-ebid.org