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Speaker 1: Big events sort of involving other countries and our economy.

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Speaker 1: Today our official inclusion in the African Export Import Bank,

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Speaker 1: and then the news overnight that a go has been extended. Well,

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Speaker 1: I suppose we should start rarely with the ceremony today

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Speaker 1: to launch our inclusion at the African Export Import Bank,

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Speaker 1: the President speaking there earlier today. The bank now says

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Speaker 1: we qualify for lending of up to eight billion US dollars.

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Speaker 1: Villain funder spe is the acting Deputy Director General of

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Speaker 1: Exports at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. Villain,

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Speaker 1: good evening and thanks for your time, taking quite a

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Speaker 1: long time to get to this point. What advantages do

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Speaker 1: we now get from being a part of the bank.

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Speaker 2: Thank you and good evening and thank you for having

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Speaker 2: us well. The overall program will aim to inject capital

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Speaker 2: into our priority industrial projects. It will support export diversification.

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Speaker 2: It will also support with infrastructure development as well as

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Speaker 2: transformation initiatives. If we look in terms of deepening so

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Speaker 2: Africa's industrialization projects will be targeted that contributes to the

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Speaker 2: national industrial policy areas of decarbonization, diversification and digitization. Examples

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Speaker 2: of projects for example which could include it includes advanced manufacturing,

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Speaker 2: green industries, critical minerals, beneficiation, pharmaceuticals and the digital economy.

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Speaker 2: So I think that is in terms of deepening our

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Speaker 2: industrial projects. Support will also be sought for projects in

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Speaker 2: and development of special economic zones and industrial parks. I

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Speaker 2: think that's an important area for us in terms of

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Speaker 2: our industrial policy. And then a very important element was

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Speaker 2: also mentioned is that the Bank will provide support through

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Speaker 2: its what it's called Inclusive Development Support Program which will

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Speaker 2: fund that transformation in the country. And we'll look at

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Speaker 2: allocating funding for projects to enable black businesses and entrepreneurs

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Speaker 2: to access finance, both assets and participate in strategic sectors

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Speaker 2: of our economy.

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Speaker 1: There are lots of projects and we all know there

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Speaker 1: are lots of parts of our economy that needs the money.

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Speaker 1: Three billion dollars of the eight billion goes straight to

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Speaker 1: the Transformation Fund. Why there specifically, I mean it's a

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Speaker 1: big chunk.

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Speaker 2: I think that's a big element. But I think that

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Speaker 2: was also an important contribution of the AFFIX and Bank

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Speaker 2: to contribute to the issue of transformation in South Africa

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Speaker 2: and to make a practical contribution in terms of making

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Speaker 2: funding available to black businesses to really support entrepreneurships and

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Speaker 2: as well as to as indicated, build their assets and

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Speaker 2: participate in strategic sectors of the economy. And that will

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Speaker 2: be then linked in with broader funding initiative linked to

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Speaker 2: the Transformation Fund and initiative, So it will be one

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Speaker 2: of the components which I think contributes to the Transformation

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Speaker 2: Funds overall framework of funding and support that it will provide.

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Speaker 1: Does the fund have the people who will make the

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Speaker 1: decisions about where the money goes yet, as I understand

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Speaker 1: that they're going to be appointed by the Minister. Does

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Speaker 1: it have the machine to do all of this? I mean,

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Speaker 1: I realized it's early days for both our inclusion in

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Speaker 1: the Bank and the Transformation Fund, but does it have

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Speaker 1: all of the machinery to do that?

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Speaker 2: The Transformation Fund, the process in terms of the preparations

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Speaker 2: for the launch bit is underway, and I think it

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Speaker 2: is it an advanced stage and I think we should

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Speaker 2: probably be communicating we'll look further details in the near

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Speaker 2: future around that. I think what is important though, is

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Speaker 2: that the trans in terms of the Transformation Fund, that

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Speaker 2: the Effects and Bank has put its hand up and

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Speaker 2: that it is allocating funds for that, and that it

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Speaker 2: is already I think engaging certain aspects of the Transformation

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Speaker 2: Funds preparations and readiness. So as indicated, I think the

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Speaker 2: prison of the Efficts and Bank indicated in terms of

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Speaker 2: the country program that they were not just waiting for

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Speaker 2: the launch. They started preparations so that practical implementation can start.

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Speaker 1: Really, student, I do have to get to this point,

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Speaker 1: philm and I'm sorry, but I just want to make

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Speaker 1: sure I understand it. The money goes the three billion

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Speaker 1: round that goes in the Transformation Fund. Is the board

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Speaker 1: of that fund going to be appointed by the minister

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Speaker 1: and will they decide which projects get funding? Is that

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Speaker 1: how it's going to work at this point.

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Speaker 2: So the indications are that the Transformation Funds, once it's

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Speaker 2: launched and the relevant government structures have been put in

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Speaker 2: place by the Minister, that they will then be assessing

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Speaker 2: various projects and that they will then be linking those

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Speaker 2: projects with potential funders such as the Effects and Bank

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Speaker 2: is one of the options. And they will also look

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Speaker 2: at various options in terms of whether there blended instruments

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Speaker 2: for example, that might be used and those kind of

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Speaker 2: elements of it. So that is the understanding at the

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Speaker 2: moment but I must also speak under correction that I'm

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Speaker 2: not a specialist on the transformation fund.

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Speaker 1: No, sure, I understand, all right, thank you. We've also

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Speaker 1: brought shares in the bank, or we have shares. I'm

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Speaker 1: talking now about the African Export Import Bank. We have

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Speaker 1: shares in the bank. We have to put money in

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Speaker 1: to get those shares. It would make sense if we did.

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Speaker 2: So originally several years ago through the Export Credit Insurance

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Speaker 2: Corporation of South Africa, which is one of the TTIC

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Speaker 2: entities in that South Africa's insurance enterprise, which supports political

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Speaker 2: and commercial risk cover for key projects and for exporters

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Speaker 2: that buy what was called Class B shares into the

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Speaker 2: Afflicts and Bank, and those shares have remained with the

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Speaker 2: Affects and Bank, and through our accession which took place today,

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Speaker 2: those shares will be converted to Class A shareholding, which

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Speaker 2: is sovereign shares which have a greater say in the

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Speaker 2: management of the bank. That process that does not require

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Speaker 2: us to buy any additional shares. The conversion of those

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Speaker 2: shares does not require additional costs associated with that. So

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Speaker 2: in many ways, what we're doing is the existing shares

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Speaker 2: that we have will just basically have more more valuable

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Speaker 2: meaning to them, so to speak. So in many ways

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Speaker 2: it's a very positive utilization of our existing shares within

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Speaker 2: that organization.

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Speaker 1: The Bank's been operating for a long time, and I

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Speaker 1: realized obviously there was a very important reason we didn't

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Speaker 1: join it for a long time, because it was during

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Speaker 1: the Aparthe eight era. We're now the fifty fourth member,

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Speaker 1: which fillam basically makes us the last member on the continent.

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Speaker 1: Why did it take us so long to get to

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Speaker 1: this point?

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Speaker 2: I think what is important about it is that I

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Speaker 2: think there was various developments which took place through the years.

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Speaker 2: But I think what is very important is that, particularly

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Speaker 2: under the current seventh administration, that it became a strong

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Speaker 2: parity for us to become a member of the African Bank.

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Speaker 2: And I think through the various initiatives which was undertaken

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Speaker 2: and supported by both the Minister and eventually Cabinet and

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Speaker 2: then supported by Parliament as or, we will managed to

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Speaker 2: finalize our accession process.

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Speaker 1: Will thank you very much indeed, for the time. Villain

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Speaker 1: Funder of Spee is the Acting Deputy Director General for

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Speaker 1: Exports of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition