The window to register for the 2016 ICC Banking Commission Annual Meeting is closing. The  event, which will be held for the first time in Africa, will gather experts and leading figures from across the trade finance industry to discuss the trends, hurdles and prospects of the trade finance landscape.

The Annual Meeting is the go-to event for trade finance professionals all over the world – welcoming over 400 trade experts, banking professionals, business leaders, lawyers and government officials from 65 countries – addressing the most pressing global challenges and financing trends facing trade finance today.

Taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa on 4-7 April, the event will feature a series of insightful and interactive plenary and breakout sessions as well as roundtable discussions covering topics such as global and regional economies, supply chain finance, global risk and mitigation, and international development, among others.

Sessions will be led by an eminent line-up of keynote and panel speakers  including John Danilovich, ICC Secretary General, Steven Beck, Asian Development Bank; Sim Tshabalala, Standard Bank ; Cas Coovadia, Banking Association South Africa; Axel Schimmelfig, International Monetary Fund; Marc Auboin, World Trade Organization; Luca Corsini, Deutsche Bank; Shezad Sharjeel and Hyung Ahn from International Finance Corporation; Alexander Malaket, Opus Advisory Services International.

“Trade finance is the backbone of global trade and is growing increasingly more important as international trade becomes the dominant driver of cross border funds flow,” said Daniel Schmand, Chair of the ICC Banking Commission. “As such, it is imperative that trade finance professionals remain up-to-date on the most current information, and what better way to do this than gathering the leading minds in trade finance and providing them with a unique platform to exchange ideas and to discourse on the latest  issues and opportunities relating to trade finance.”

The Annual Meeting will also gather special Banking Commission task forces and working groups – providing an invaluable opportunity for business and banking leaders, lawyers and government officials from all over the world to discuss technical topics related to bank guarantees, financial crime risk, supply chain finance, factoring, forfaiting, legal issues and regulation.

An exclusive feature of the Annual Meeting will be the Policy Consultation Forum – a gathering of key industry leaders and senior executives from international organizations to advance discussion on barriers to trade finance and the measures that must be taken to support the growth of small- and medium-sized businesses.

Under the theme “Trade and Supply Chain Finance: Enabling New Trade Corridors in and with Africa”, the event will explore the significance of Africa’s regional and global trade flows – detailing some of the region’s most exciting markets.

“Everyone has realised the continued potential for growth in Africa and hence wants to take part in the growth” says Vinod Madhavan, Head of Transactional Products & Services, South Africa at Standard Bank and member, Advisory Board, ICC Banking Commission. “But this comes with risks, straddling counterparty credit, country, currency & compliance risks.  A gathering of trade finance professionals, such as the ICC Banking Commission Annual Meeting is the perfect setting, for discussions towards how finance service providers could help their corporates clients manage such risks, while simultaneously work towards fulfilling the unmet demand for Trade Finance in Africa,” he says.

Register now to participate in this engaging and important event. (Link to website)