NAIROBI, 3 February 2017 – The African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) recently concluded its first deal in Ethiopia. ATI backed a USD 159 million loan from the African Development Bank to fund Ethiopian Airlines’ fleet expansion with the purchase of an Airbus A350-900 jet. The airline’s aggressive expansion strategy includes doubling its fleet and increasing revenue to USD 10 billion in the next decade.
The transaction is the first covered by ATI since Ethiopia formally became a member in 2016. ATI expects this to unleash many more projects in its growing pipeline of projects in Ethiopia.
”The AfDB is extremely pleased to have collaborated with ATI to finance the purchase of a new A35-900 Aircraft for Ethiopian Airlines. Through its first transaction in Ethiopia, ATI has demonstrated its technical capability, competitive pricing and client responsiveness to deliver the aircraft on time and within a short turnaround time. I am confident this remarkable performance will be followed by many more game-changing operations in Ethiopia and across the continent,” noted Gabriel Negatu, Director General of the East Africa Region, African Development Bank.
Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s largest carrier by revenue and profit, earning more than its rivals on the continent combined with revenues of USD 2.2 billion in 2014/15. The airline serves 82 international destinations with 11 more targeted in 2016.
“Ethiopia represents a vibrant market with incredible potential. We are proud to be associated with Africa’s most profitable airline. This is likely be the first of many high impact projects we support in the coming years,” notes George Otieno, ATI’s Chief Executive Officer.
The Ethiopian Airlines transaction is also significant because it marks another important milestone in ATI’s evolving partnership with the African Development Bank, signalling the potential for both institutions to support more infrastructure projects across Africa.
The African Development Bank became a shareholder of ATI in 2012 with a USD 15 million equity investment. Since taking a stake in ATI, the Bank began funding the capital subscription of new member countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe into ATI membership. With this transaction, there is now also potential for the two institutions to partner on other projects in ATI’s member countries going forward.
