According to the official press release, in recent years, trade between China and Africa has expanded significantly, with bilateral trade reaching a record USD 282 billion in 2023. From January to November 2024, China’s exports to Africa totalled USD 160 billion, marking a 1.4% increase, while imports from Africa grew by 6.6%, totalling USD 107 billion.
Despite this growth, African SMEs involved in international trade face challenges such as difficulties in opening accounts with traditional banks, risks of frozen funds, currency exchange issues, long remittance times, and high transaction costs. The collaboration between XTransfer and Ecobank aims to tackle these problems by offering more efficient cross-border payment solutions.
XTransfer will leverage Ecobank’s extensive African network to enable its Chinese clients to collect funds in local African currencies. Additionally, African SMEs will be able to make payments in their local currencies, addressing foreign exchange issues.
The founder and CEO of XTransfer expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, noting that it would significantly enhance their payment capabilities globally. He added that Ecobank’s network would support XTransfer’s growth in Africa, fostering innovation and improving financial access for SMEs.
In turn, officials from Ecobank Group emphasised the strategic alignment of the partnership with their wider goals. They stated that combining XTransfer’s solutions with Ecobank’s pan-African payment infrastructure would streamline payments, lower costs, and better position African businesses in the global trade arena.
In essence, the collaboration between these two entities is expected to reduce the costs associated with global trade, improve the competitiveness of African SMEs, and promote smoother foreign trade transactions between African companies and their international counterparts. This partnership supports Ecobank’s objective of facilitating cross-border trade and contributing to the economic growth and development of Africa.
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