New Delhi, Jun 8 (KNN) The Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank), a state-run institution focused on facilitating the country's international trade and investment, has inaugurated a new representative office in Nairobi, Kenya.

This strategic move aims to bolster India's commercial ties with the resource-rich and demographically burgeoning East African region.

Through this newly established East Africa Representative Office, India Exim Bank anticipates heightened engagement with the region's industries, private and public sector entities, banks, and financial institutions.

Such interactions are expected to augment trade and investment flows between India and East African nations, including Kenya.

Trade data underscores the growing economic relationship between India and East Africa.

Merchandise trade between the two regions has witnessed considerable growth over the past decade, escalating from USD 9.7 billion in 2013 to USD 12.9 billion in 2022. India's exports to East Africa, which stood at USD 8.6 billion in 2013, rose to USD 9.4 billion by 2022.

As India's premier trade finance institution, India Exim Bank plays a pivotal role in financing, facilitating, and promoting the country's international trade and investment endeavours.

The bank's activities extend to policy formulation and project export finance initiatives aligned with India's economic diplomacy efforts. In addition to its new Kenyan outpost, the bank maintains regional offices in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Under its Overseas Investment Finance Program, India Exim Bank has thus far provided financing for 77 ventures established by over 50 companies across 14 African countries.

Since 2022, the bank has supported 76 transactions totalling nearly USD 800 million in 18 African nations, aiding 22 Indian exporters, including 10 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), based in 14 cities across nine Indian states through its Trade Assistance Program (TAP) and other trade facilitation initiatives.

Furthermore, on behalf of the Indian government, India Exim Bank has extended over 200 Lines of Credit to 42 African nations, amounting to more than USD 12 billion.

These credit facilities aim to support socio-economic development in the region by facilitating access to essential infrastructure, improving livelihoods, boosting agricultural productivity, enhancing industrial output, and promoting sustainable development.

This multi-faceted engagement simultaneously creates opportunities for companies in Africa and India across traditional and emerging sectors, benefiting a multitude of MSMEs in the value chain while creating and sustaining employment opportunities.

(KNN Bureau)