Afreximbank and FCI to Host Africa Factoring and Trade Finance Conference in Kampala This April

The two-day event brings together financial institutions, regulators, and SME advocates to accelerate alternative financing solutions and close Africa’s trade finance gap

Afreximbank and FCI will jointly host the Africa Regional Conference on Factoring, Receivables Finance and Credit Insurance in Kampala, Uganda, on 15 and 16 April 2026, bringing together senior figures from across the continent’s financial and trade ecosystem to advance practical alternatives to traditional lending for African businesses.

Held under the theme “Beyond Traditional Lending: The Continued Rise of Factoring and Supply Chain Finance in Africa,” the conference is supported by FCI Academy and ICISA, and will convene representatives from financial institutions, development finance bodies, insurers, regulators, and government across Africa and beyond.

Closing the Trade Finance Gap for African SMEs

The event’s central preoccupation is one of the most stubborn obstacles to African economic integration — the trade finance gap that leaves small and medium-sized enterprises unable to access the working capital they need to grow, trade across borders, and participate meaningfully in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

Factoring and receivables finance — instruments that allow businesses to convert outstanding invoices into immediate liquidity — are increasingly recognised as practical complements to conventional bank lending, particularly for SMEs that lack the collateral or credit history that traditional lenders require.

Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, framed the stakes directly. “Factoring is not just an alternative, it is a necessity for African businesses that need immediate liquidity to remain competitive,” she said, describing the Kampala conference as an opportunity to ensure the legal and financial frameworks are in place to turn receivables into the working capital that drives the AfCFTA engine.

Practical Dialogue Across the Value Chain

Conference discussions will span market development, legal and regulatory frameworks, credit insurance, digitalisation, and the practical considerations involved in building sustainable receivables finance operations at scale. The agenda is designed to move beyond awareness-raising toward concrete dialogue between market practitioners, policymakers, and institutions.

Ms. Betül Kurtuluş, Deputy Secretary General of FCI, emphasised that continued development of factoring in Africa depends on exactly this kind of structured, multi-stakeholder exchange. “This conference reflects that shared commitment and provides a valuable opportunity to explore how these solutions can continue to evolve across the region,” she said.

A Strategic Moment for African Trade Finance

The Kampala conference arrives at a significant juncture. As Africa moves toward a unified market under the AfCFTA, demand for efficient, scalable trade finance instruments is growing rapidly — and the continent’s financial institutions are under increasing pressure to develop infrastructure that can support cross-border commerce at the volumes the free trade area is designed to generate.

Afreximbank, which has total assets and contingencies exceeding US$40.1 billion and serves as a cornerstone institution for AfCFTA financing, and FCI, the global representative body for factoring with nearly 400 member companies in over 90 countries, are well positioned to drive that agenda forward from Kampala. Registration for the conference is currently open.