The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, signed a EUR 107 million Murabahah financing agreement to finance Burkina Faso 2017/2018 cotton season with SOFITEX, the national cotton company, as executing agent.
This transaction is in line with the new $450 million framework agreement, signed in May 2017, with the Government of Burkina Faso for the coming three years.
The EUR 107 million Murabahah financing agreement was signed by Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO, ITFC, and Mr. Wilfried Yameogo, CEO, SOFITEX, representing Burkina’s Minister of Economy, Finance and Development.
“ITFC’s support for the Cotton sector in Burkina Faso is in line with its strategy of prioritising its financing to the key sectors driving economic growth and income generation for the people in Member Countries,” said Sonbol, highlighting the importance of such agreements in terms of supporting trade finance activities in Burkina Faso.
He further explained that the proposed operation is to consolidate ITFC's financing package for Burkina, leveraging on the Corporation's ability to mobilise resources from the market while positioning itself as the “Cotton Bank of West Africa”.
This financing agreement will support the purchase of seed cotton from farmers and cooperatives and will also have a positive impact on the income of the farmers and improve their living conditions.
Burkina Faso has benefited from more than $925 million of financing since ITFC’s inception in 2008.