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The United Bank for Africa (UBA), a Pan-African banking group, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) to expand trade between the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

UBA and EXIM Bank said they would work together to share information and develop export-financing opportunities in key sectors such as commodities, agriculture and food products, spare parts, and large and small equipment purchases.

The MOU is a statement of general intent between UBA and U.S. EXIM Bank to increase the availability of financing by the official export credit agency of the United States of up to $100 million in SSA.

Phillips Oduoza, UBA’s outgoing Group Managing Director/CEO, and Fred P. Hochberg, U.S. EXIM Bank’s Chairman and President, signed the MOU on behalf of their organizations at the ongoing World Economic Forum on Africa holding in Kigali, Rwanda, from May 11 –13. (Kennedy Uzoka, UBA’s GMD/CEO designate, was also part of the signing ceremony).

“EXIM Bank is proud to build on its decades-long commitment to financing American exports to sub-Saharan Africa,” said Hochberg. “This memorandum signals to American exporters and African businesses alike that there are many more promising opportunities to work together, and EXIM stands ready to provide the financing needed to turn more of those opportunities into realities.”

Under the MOU, UBA and U.S. EXIM Bank will explore options for offering a range of financing products for American exporters and African buyers, including short and medium-term financing programmes that allow for flexible repayment terms as well as competitive insurance policies guaranteed by the U.S. EXIM Bank.

Since 2009, the U.S. EXIM has provided more than $6 billion in financing for transactions across SSA. For the fiscal year ending in 2014, the Bank supported $2.05 billion in transactions in more than 20 SSA countries.

In 2014, U.S. EXIM Bank signed a $100 million MOU with the Nairobi-based Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (commonly known as PTA Bank) to finance U.S. exports to SSA that target both diaspora businesses in the U.S. and PTA Bank's member states.