By Lamin Cham
The Governor of the Central Bank Buwa Saidy on Monday addressed a convergence on African trade financing organised by the Ghana International Bank (GHIB), hosted in Banjul. The GHIB Afritradex conference is a regular event organised to bring together experts on trade finance from Africa and beyond.
Addressing the meeting at the Kairaba Conference Centre, Governor Saidy told delegates that trade does not move on goodwill alone, but on trust, liquidity, confidence, and the quiet but indispensable machinery of finance. The governor added that trade finance is the invisible bridge between producers and markets, between aspiration and execution and that when it works well, it magnifies investment, economic growth and the overall well-being of society. “However when it falters, even the most open markets remain out of reach,” he warned.
According to him, bold steps toward integration have been taken across Africa as evidenced by the African Continental Free Trade Area which stands as a landmark achievement, and a declaration of intent to create a single African market, to deepen value chains, and to anchor growth in trade and production.
But he said experience has taught that market access is not the same as market participation because firms cannot export what they cannot finance and that trade agreements alone do not move goods, “they only open doors, and finance determines who can walk through them”.
“Without reliable trade finance, many African firms, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, struggle to take advantage of AfCFTA opportunities, especially in manufacturing, agro-processing, and services. As a result, the promise of integration remains only partially realised. This is why trade finance must be understood not as a peripheral support mechanism, but as a central driver of Africa’s growth and transformation”, the governor told delegates.
Turing to the GHIB, Saidy said : “Here in The Gambia we acknowledge that GHIB is not simply a correspondent bank operating at a distance. It is a deeply embedded partner in our trade and financial landscape. It serves as a bridge, connecting Gambian banks to regional and global markets, translating international liquidity into local economic activity, and providing structured trade finance solutions in environments where confidence is often in short supply. Through trade finance facilities, correspondent banking services, risk mitigation and liquidity support, GHIB enables commerce in The Gambia that extends far beyond balance sheets. These financial flows, support importers of essential goods, exporters seeking new markets, manufacturers expanding capacity, and households whose livelihood depends on trade-linked activities,”.
He said 2024 alone, GHIB facilitated over US$1 billion in trade-related transactions for The Gambia and extended approximately US$123.75 million in trade finance support to Gambian banks.
“These flows ensured the availability of essential imports, supported export activity, eased pressure on the foreign exchange market, and reinforced confidence in the banking system. This is trade finance at work, not in abstraction, but in lived economic outcomes, supporting not only trade volumes, but macroeconomic stability and economic resilience. From a central banking perspective, such partnerships reduce systemic risk, strengthen market confidence, and enhance the transmission of policy objectives to the real economy and also demonstrates how internationally connected banks/institutions can complement domestic reforms and amplify their impact,” he said. The meeting continues.
