Solving the African Import-Export Problem
Trade finance in Africa is like finance everywhere else, except for one detail. There are two major legs of any export: from production source to port, and from port to foreign destination. The inland leg is fairly easy in the developed world, but rather more complex within Africa. Likewise, for imports: local banks generally cannot tie up their capital for the period of time it takes for an order to be produced elsewhere to be then shipped for settlement against shipping do