Denys Denya, Executive Vice President, Afreximbank

As Africa continues to expand its trade finance landscape, the dynamic economic conditions and a burgeoning digital economy present unique opportunities and challenges. Driven by a strategic focus on boosting intra-African trade, enhancing liquidity, and reducing trade-related risks, the continent’s trade finance space is evolving rapidly. In this exclusive interview, Denys Denya, Executive Vice President, Afreximbank, and Sriranga Sampathkumar, Vice President and General Manager – Middle East and Africa, Infosys Ltd. delve into the bank’s transformative journey. They discuss emerging trends and opportunities in Africa’s trade finance landscape, the bank’s next-generation technology-led initiatives, the crucial role of cloud computing, lessons learned from cloud-led transformation, and how AI technologies align with the bank’s broader strategic goals.

Sriranga: Afreximbank is recognized as one of the foremost trade finance banks in Africa. Could you share more about your organization and how it has emerged as a leader in this space? Additionally, could you provide a brief overview of your role within the bank?

Denys: You are right, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank, “the Bank”) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. For over three decades, we have transformed the structure and composition of African trade by accelerating industrialization and promoting intra-regional trade while driving economic growth.

Afreximbank’s leadership in Africa’s trade finance is rooted in its innovative approach, strategic partnerships, and deep understanding of the market. We continuously implement financial solutions to meet the continent’s evolving trade finance needs, with a strong focus on enabling the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

In my role as Senior Executive Vice President, I oversee the Bank’s day-to-day operations covering Finance and Treasury, Credit Risk Management, Banking operations and Trade services, including payments, client relations and research and international cooperation, ensuring that our strategic objectives are implemented efficiently and in an effective manner. I also oversee our technology division, which is instrumental in our digital transformation journey and in enhancing customer experience.

Sriranga Sampathkumar, Vice President and General Manager – Middle East and Africa, Infosys Ltd.

Sriranga: Corporate banks are accelerating their digital transformation to meet the growing demands of their business customers. Could you share key trends, opportunities, and challenges shaping the trade finance business in Africa and where does Afreximbank stand in their digital transformation journey?

Denys: Intra-regional trade in Africa is relatively low at 15% compared to 59% in Europe, 51% in Asia, and 37% in North America. Despite various initiatives to facilitate a seamless flow of goods and services across Africa, the continent still faces several challenges including inadequate financing, lack of appropriate cross-border payment systems, poor market access for African producers, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, export supply constraints, limited economic diversification, high product concentration, poor infrastructure, unfair historical trading patterns, and conflicting regulatory issues.

Encouragingly, trade finance in Africa is evolving rapidly as financial institutions, and other intermediaries accelerate their digital transformation to meet the demands of businesses for efficiency, speed, and transparency.

At Afreximbank, we are committed to improving service delivery for our corporate, sovereign and sub-sovereign clients by deploying appropriate technologies and leading Africa’s digital transformation in trade finance. Our Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) ecosystem is a testament to this commitment. We aim to build a fully integrated digital environment that not only meets the immediate needs of businesses but also anticipates future demands as African trade continues to grow and evolve.

Sriranga: Afreximbank is committed to the consistent expansion and diversification of African trade. Could you elaborate on the bank’s digital strategy in achieving this vision? Additionally, what next-gen technologies is the Bank adopting to stay ahead in this ever-evolving landscape.

Denys: At Afreximbank, we recognize the transformative power of digital technologies in reshaping trade and the way we deliver on our mandate, driving us closer to our strategic objectives.

We are leveraging next-gen technologies to address the unique needs of African trade. Here are a few examples:

1. Africa Trade Gateway (ATG): One of our flagship initiatives, a digital ecosystem designed to simplify and enhance trade across the continent. ATG brings together solutions such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) for streamlined cross-border payments, ATEX for B2B e-commerce, the MANSA platform for due diligence and compliance, and Trader Club (Trade Information and Regulatory platform).
2. Adoption of AI for Supply Chain Prediction and Analysis: We’ve integrated artificial intelligence within ATG to enhance supply chain predictions and analytics. This enables African businesses to better respond to market demands, adjust their strategies, and optimise operations across borders, strengthening their competitive advantage.
3. AI-Driven Process Improvement: Beyond ATG, AI plays a critical role in our overall digital strategy by driving process improvement across banking operations. By implementing AI-driven solutions, we’re optimizing decision-making, automating routine tasks, and enhancing customer experiences.
4. Innovation Lab: It is a dedicated hub for exploring and implementing cutting-edge technologies tailored to address Africa’s unique challenges. Here, we incubate ideas, run accelerator programs, and launch initiatives that bring practical solutions to market.
5. CANEX (Creatives Nexus) Platform: In line with our vision to diversify African trade, we’re also prioritizing the cultural and creative sectors through the CANEX platform. The platform provides a marketplace for creatives (music, film, fashion, culinary etc), offering investor matchmaking and growth opportunities.
6. Next-Gen Technologies: We are continuously exploring advanced technologies to enhance our digital capabilities. For instance, we’re assessing blockchain’s potential for trade finance (documentary trade process) and exploring machine learning models to strengthen risk management and predictive analytics. By adopting technologies that improve transparency, efficiency, and scalability, we ensure that our digital strategy remains agile and future focused.

Sriranga: How critical has a cloud-native, next-generation core been to your overall strategy? Why did you choose to adopt cloud for this journey?

Denys: The cloud has been vital to our strategy to enhance resilience, especially after the Arab Spring 2011. The adoption of cloud-based infrastructure was driven by our determination to enhance operational agility, scalability, and resilience. With a cloud-first approach, we can respond to the demands of our stakeholders more rapidly, innovate faster, and deliver enhanced services with a strong emphasis on information security and efficiency.

Our decision to move to the cloud was rooted in the desire to modernize and future-proof our operations. More importantly, it enabled us to implement real-time payments, embrace emerging technologies, and implement a disaster recovery framework that ensures uninterrupted service availability which is essential in today’s fast-paced financial ecosystem.

In terms of measurable benefits, we have observed several impactful outcomes since our move to the cloud. First, our operational efficiency has significantly improved, with reduced downtime, shorter lead times for infrastructure provisioning, and faster transaction processing times. Second, our ability to innovate has accelerated; leveraging cloud-based platforms has allowed us to integrate new features and scale services quickly to meet evolving market demands.

From a security perspective, we are witnessing improved resilience and leveraging robust disaster recovery capabilities, enhancing our ability to protect client data and ensure business continuity during disruptive events.

With cloud, we have also gained a competitive edge, enabling us to offer real-time services and more customized client experiences. For example, in 2020 when COVID-19 struck the speed to market of new intervention was reduced to 3 months (from problem identification, solution design to obtaining all relevant approvals and disbursement) and even shorter during the Russia-Ukraine crisis. We can now scale up to accommodate peak demand and integrate next-generation technologies like AI and machine learning to optimize service delivery. This move has positioned us to lead in African trade finance by embracing cutting-edge solutions that enhance speed, reliability, and client satisfaction.

Sriranga: How has the partnership with Infosys Finacle and AWS supporting your cloud strategy? Looking forward, how do you envision this partnership evolving to support your future goals?

Denys: Our partnership with Infosys Finacle and AWS has been pivotal in supporting the bank’s cloud strategy, enabling us to leverage cutting-edge technology to enhance our operations, drive efficiency, and deliver exceptional services to our clients. Finacle has provided the flexibility and agility we needed to quickly address our stakeholders’ needs, offering a good foundation for innovation. AWS, with its scalable cloud infrastructure, complements this by ensuring high availability, security, and seamless integration capabilities.

Together, these partners have empowered us to modernize our core banking infrastructure, reduce operational costs, and accelerate the rollout of new products and services while enhancing service delivery.

Looking ahead, we see this partnership evolving to support our future goals. As we continue to grow, we anticipate working closely with our partners to further enhance automation, harness artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, and explore new innovations in digital trade finance. We also expect to deepen our collaboration around advanced security and compliance measures to stay ahead of emerging threats and regulatory requirements.

Thank you, Denys for taking the time to share your invaluable insights, perspectives, and learnings in this interview. Your expertise on Africa’s evolving trade finance landscape, along with Afreximbank’s innovative journey leveraging cloud and AI, provides a compelling look into the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of trade finance across the continent.