DP World, Standard Chartered Bank Offer Trade Finance Solutions

DP World, a global leader in supply chain solutions, on Tuesday announced its partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, the largest bank in Africa by assets, to offer trade finance solutions jointly with DP World Trade Finance.

This partnership will help in closing the gap in unmet demand for working capital on the continent.

African companies looking for trade finance will now be able to seamlessly access working capital from Standard Chartered Bank via the DP World Trade Finance platform.

DP World Trade Finance connects business with financial institutions as a fintech platform while also directly offering trade finance facilities on its own. It offers businesses a single window to access trade finance solutions – customers can simply apply for credit on the digital platform, which will present them with the best options from global financiers who may otherwise be out of their reach.

Access to finance is one of the biggest barriers for businesses seeking global trade opportunities, evidenced by the struggle that many businesses face in securing the upfront funds required to move cargo.

By bringing Standard Bank onto the platform, DP World Trade Finance now offers an array of financing solutions to African businesses, which face an ever-growing need for logistics and financial support to connect to global trade routes.

Testament to DP World’s Goal

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said that DP World exists to make the world’s trade flow better and this partnership with Standard Bank is testament to that goal. “Africa is a key market for us, with this partnership complementing our ongoing investment and development across the continent. Our recent acquisition of Imperial Logistics allowed us to enhance our logistics capabilities in Africa. With the addition of DP World Trade Finance into our offerings, we aim to support African businesses of all sizes for their working capital needs. Together with Standard Bank, we will help African businesses go from strength to strength and grow their exports to new markets,” he added.

Sinan Ozcan, Senior Executive Officer of DP World Financial Services, commented that Standard Bank joining the DP World Trade Finance platform is great news for businesses across Africa. DP World offers Standard Bank access to data on cargo movements, enabling them to lend with confidence. “We in turn plan to co-lend and share risk with Standard Bank on deals made via the platform, whilst Standard Bank will be able to support the many suppliers in DP World’s ecosystem across Africa with its strong financing capabilities. This ecosystem has itself been strengthened by the acquisition of Imperial Logistics by DP World in 2022. Standard Bank’s strong presence across countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique will see this partnership develop further in the African market,” Ozcan added.

Kenny Fihla, Chief Executive Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank, said that as the bank moves forward with the ambition of becoming a digitally enabled organisation, they were looking at seeking partnerships with global multinationals like DP World to deliver trade solutions to our clients across the continent. Partnering with DP World allows us to enhance how we facilitate cross-border transactions in growing key trade corridors, Fihla added.

Since its launch in July 2021, DP World Trade Finance has partnered with 23 financial institutions and generated over $700 million in credit limit submissions. The registration process takes less than five minutes and over 57,000 global clients have already signed up for affordable access to trade finance through the platform. DP World Trade Finance also started directly lending to businesses since 2022.