EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme

Unlocking Trade Finance: A Game-Changer in the Region! We are excited to share the successful completion of the "Navigating Trade Finance: Building Awareness for Accessibility" conference, held on 13-14 March 2025, at the Wyndham Grand Tbilisi, Georgia! The event was officially opened by: Alkis Drakinos, Director, Regional Head of the Caucasus, EBRD Fady Asly, Chairman of ICC Georgia Çağatay Baydar, Chairman, FCI; Chairman, TEB Faktoring, Turkey In partnership with International Chamber of Commerce in Georgia, the EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme, and FCI , this regional trade finance and factoring conference brought together key players from banks, financial institutions, and corporates across the region. The event was a valuable platform for industry leaders to discuss market trends, regulatory developments, and best practices in factoring and trade finance. Key Discussions Included: Macroeconomic Landscape & Regional Trade Flows Barriers to Accessing Trade Finance Factoring as a Strategic Financing Tool Legal & Regulatory Aspects of Factoring Credit Risk Assessment & Supply Chain Finance With the factoring industry gaining traction in the region, this conference highlighted the need for increased accessibility, knowledge sharing, and regulatory improvements to support SMEs and corporates. The discussions were insightful, solution-driven, and instrumental in advancing factoring as a reliable alternative financing tool. A big thank you to all the industry leaders, experts, speakers, and partners who made this event a huge success! Let’s continue fostering collaboration to make trade finance more accessible and efficient across the region. Thank you to our Nana Khurodze and our distinguish speakers Milot Ahma Loretta Loretta Martikian Khatia Bukhrashvili Olga Rusu Hovsep Patvakanian, PhD Giorgi Cherkezishvili Eva Bochorishvili; Nelli Kocharyan, CITF Tamar Gugushvili CDCS A. Betül Kurtulus Aysen Cetintas Anzhela Barseghyan CSCF Shota Dekanosidze Ana Kavtaradze Mete Onol Tamara Khizanishvili Harris Saridis Hayk Malkhasyan, Esq. Ketevan Antidze Irina Tyan #TradeFinance #Factoring #ICCGeorgia #EBRDTFP #FCI #Tbilisi #Georgia #Finance #Banking #Corporates #SMEs #SupplyChainFinance

29 April 2025 – SAVE THE DATE! Save the date & join EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), Legal Transition Programme (LTP) and FCI as we head to Skopje to host a joint conference on Factoring and Supply Chain Finance in Western Balkans: Economic, Business, and Regulatory Perspectives. This is a must-attend event for those looking to expand their knowledge, network with key stakeholders, and contribute to the future of trade finance, factoring and supply chain finance in the region. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with industry leaders and shape the future of trade finance in the region! Stay tuned for agenda details. Don’t miss out, find out more via https://lnkd.in/eEDz4QHN #TradeFinance #Factoring #receivables #finance #SupplyChainFinance #WesternBalkans #EBRD #FCI A. Betül Kurtulus, Aysen Cetintas, Spyros Tsolis, Nana Khurodze, Milot Ahma, Angaaraa Enkhbayar, Irina Tyan, Shokhrukh Inamov

🌟 That’s a wrap! 🌟 Do Egyptian regulations already embrace #MLETR?! Is it enough for the business sector to use digital negotiable instruments (#DNI) in #Egypt?! The conference may be over, but this is just the beginning of the journey for #TradeDigitalisation in Egypt! 🚀 Thank you to everyone for driving the conversation forward! ✅Introduction to UNCITRAL MLETR and DNIs Luca Castellani, Pamela Mar and Muhammad Ussama, together with Milot Ahma, laid out the foundations on electronic transferable records from a legal perspective. ✅Banking & SME Panel: Digitising Promissory Notes and Bills of Exchange We heard from international experts, Jon Boran, Anthony Wadsworth-Hill, and Mirka Skrzypczak on the real-world benefits of DNI. Norhan Ezzat, CFA and Michael Gichure, CDCS, COFIT, B.A Economics. provided key insights on how the Egyptian and African markets have been digitalising their businesses and how they can embrace DNI. The banking and business sectors can enhance trade operations by improving data accuracy, API connection, and other processes to prepare for MLETR adoption. ✅Transport & Logistics Panel: Digitising the End-to-End Transport Document Processes Egypt has made significant strides in digitalising customs and eBL adoption through #NAFEZA, but there is still much to do! Gamal Kotb, Tarek Nabil, Rehab Tammam and Bojan Čekrlić shared their journey towards trade digitalisation and explored additional benefits that technology and MLETR alignment can bring. ✅Technology Panel: Achieving Interoperability of Trade Documents Across Platforms and Ecosystems & Expanding to Digital Payments Matthieu Andrieu, Farah Lahbib, Boaz Lessem and Patrik Zekkar highlighted the key benefits of technology and shared plans for expanding use cases. Interoperability and collaboration are essential for further adoption of technology in trade! ✅Policy Panel: Adoption of MLETR Around the World International experts shared insights from their MLETR adoption journeys: Hussam AlKokhon, CDCS, CBE 🇶🇦 Philippe HENRY 🇫🇷, John Taylor 🇬🇧🇹🇭, and growing adoption of MLETR around the world - Merlin Dowse 🇺🇸. Milot Ahma highlighted the EBRD’s efforts, including cooperation with MDBs worldwide. ✅Planning Panel: Aligning with MLETR in Egypt The final panel, led by Pamela Mar, focused on the actions and roles that industries need to play—from stakeholder engagement to implementing DNI and new technologies in their businesses. “Be bold!” The government needs pressure from industry—don’t be afraid of legal risks! A huge thank you to Alaa Ezz, Muhammad Ussama, Hussam AlKokhon, CDCS, CBE, and Sean Edwards for their valuable contributions! 🎤A special thank you to André Casterman for expertly moderating the conference! 🎉 #TradeDigitalisation #MLETR #EBRD #Egypt Shona Tatchell, Anna Brod-Ohana, Milot Ahma, Yuka Masumizu, CPA, André Casterman, Pamela Mar, Tianmi Stilphen, Alhasan Basalama, @Shokhrukh Inamov, @Heba Gamal Ahmad

📍 Live from #Cairo! We’re here to explore the potential of digital trade and the MLETR opportunity in Egypt! We were honoured to have Ahmed Abdel.Mageed from the Central Bank of Egypt open the conference alongside our very own Anna Brod-Ohana from EBRD TFP. The first session dived into: ⭐ Introduction to UNCITRAL MLETR and Digital Negotiable Instruments ⭐ 🔹 Luca Castellani covered the fundamentals of MLETR 🔹 Pamela Mar shared insights on MLETR’s role in trade digitalisation and how we can facilitate its implementation 🔹 Muhammad Ussama provided a deep dive into Egypt’s current legal framework for negotiable instruments A big thank you to Milot Ahma from LTT, EBRD for expertly moderating the panel and kicking off this important discussion! Excited for the conversations ahead—stay tuned! 🚀 #TradeDigitalisation #MLETR #EBRD Shona Tatchell Anna Brod-Ohana Milot Ahma Yuka Masumizu, CPA André Casterman Pamela Mar @Shokhrukh Inamov

🚀 Exploring the Future of Trade Digitalisation in Egypt 🚀 We are excited to host a one-day conference on “Digitalising Trade and Expanding Supply Chain Finance in Egypt: The MLETR Opportunity”, in collaboration with ICC DSI and ITFC. 📅 Date: Tuesday, 25 February 2025 📍 Location: Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino, Cairo This exclusive event will bring together key stakeholders to explore the fundamental principles and transformative benefits of digital trade. Through insightful sessions, we’ll hear from policymakers, banking pioneers, technology providers, and industry experts who are driving digitalisation forward. Key discussions will include: ✅ Policy developments from global jurisdictions, the EBRD, and ICC national committees ✅ Banking testimonials from early adopters of Digital Negotiable Instruments (DNIs) ✅ Transport and logistics use cases from the Egyptian single window and technology partners ✅ Insights from ICC DSI, ITFC, and more While participation is by invitation only, we look forward to sharing key takeaways from the event and continuing the dialogue on the future of trade digitalisation. For more information, please contact MasumizY@ebrd.com, InamovS@ebrd.com, broda@ebrd.com Stay tuned for updates! #DigitalTrade #MLETR #SupplyChainFinance #TradeFinance #Egypt #EBRD #ICCDSI #ITFC Anna Brod-Ohana | Ahmed Abdel.Mageed | André Casterman | Milot Ahma | Muhammad Ussama | Pamela Mar | Luca Castellani | Jon Boran | Patrik Zekkar | Anthony Wadsworth-Hill | Mirka Skrzypczak | Michael Gichure, CDCS, COFIT, B.A Economics. | Ahmed Afifi | Rehab Tammam | Gamal Kotb | Norhan Ezzat, CFA | Bojan Čekrlić | Farah Lahbib | Boaz Lessem | Matthieu Andrieu | Sean Edwards | Hussam AlKokhon, CDCS, CBE | Merlin Dowse | Philippe HENRY | Alaa Ezz | John Taylor | Yuka Masumizu, CPA | Tianmi Stilphen | Shokhrukh Inamov EBRD | ICC DSI | International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) Central Bank of Egypt | UNCITRAL: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law | African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) | Misr Technology Services | ITFA | Centre for Applied Sustainable Transition Law (CASTL)

Earlier this week, the EBRD, in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Trade - Morocco, UNCITRAL: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, and ICC Morocco, hosted a high-level workshop in Rabat. The event focused on raising awareness of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) and presented the EBRD’s initiative to digitalise Morocco’s trade documentation.   To date, the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) has facilitated over €2.1 billion in trade transactions through six partner banks in Morocco. We remain committed to advancing digital trade solutions by collaborating with industry bodies and supporting legal reforms. In collaboration with the EBRD’s Legal Transition Team, we’ve launched a project in Morocco to align the local legal framework with the UNCITRAL MLETR, positioning the country as the first in Africa to fully embrace digital trade practices.   Catherine Bridge Zoller Milot Ahma Natalia Pagkou Shona Tatchell Irina Tyan

We’re thrilled to announce that EBRD’s TFP is partnering with Trade Finance Global (TFG) for Women in Trade Treasury and Payments 2025! 🌟   Since 2022, TFG has been hosting this inspiring, women-only event, which champions the empowerment of women in trade, treasury, and payments. This year, Women in Trade will bring together the brightest minds in the industry to discuss everything from cutting-edge technology in emerging markets to the real-world impact of diversity and equality.   In just 2 weeks, on Thursday 27 February, join us at The Lansdowne Club in London as we celebrate the incredible women shaping the future of trade finance and treasury!   Don’t miss out—register now: https://lnkd.in/eJQdKJVr   Stay tuned for exclusive updates as we spotlight the female leaders driving change in our industry!   #EBRD #TFP #TradeFinanceGlobal #TradeFinance #WomenInTrade #WITTP2025 #WomenInFinance #WomenInTradeTreasuryAndPayments

On February 4, 2025, the EBRD’s TFP team joined a fantastic event in Amman, Jordan, organized by our FI and CSD colleagues. We had the chance to introduce Green TFP, highlight our achievements in the SEMED region, and outline the types of trade finance transactions that are eligible for Green TFP. The event wrapped up with a great panel discussion, moderated by Dimitris Pontikakos, where we explored green strategies and shared case studies from Green TFP partner banks. A huge thank you to our amazing guest speakers—Teona Jolokhava, Sarah Mikhail, CITF, CSCF, and Tamer Natsheh—for their valuable insights into developing green trade finance! Gretchen Biery Katya Lehair Samer Freij Irina Tyan Shokhrukh Inamov Alberto Rais Dimitris Pontikakos Vincent Duijnhouwer Karim Hassan

🚀Successful Compliance Workshop in Chișinău, Moldova: “Increasing Role of Compliance in International Trade”🚀 On January 21-22, 2025, the EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), in collaboration with the National Bank of Moldova and Argos advisory, hosted a highly successful two-day compliance workshop in Chișinău. This event brought together 50 participants from Moldova’s financial institutions and regulatory bodies, focusing on compliance governance and screening controls, in response to evolving financial crime risks. The workshop provided crucial insights into the evolving landscape of financial crime compliance and international sanctions, addressing, among others: - International sanctions risks and challenges - Corporate governance, policies and procedures - Screening and monitoring tools - Case studies on international sanctions (complex shareholding structures, relevant typologies) - Recent trends in TBML and risk indicators The event was officially opened by Vladimir Munteanu, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, and Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, Head of Moldova at EBRD. Special thanks to Martial N. Smets, Director at Argos advisory and EBRD's consultant, for delivering another highly engaging and informative session. A heartfelt thank you to all the attendees and to everyone who contributed to making this event a success! 🙌 #Compliance #FinancialCrimePrevention #SanctionsCompliance #SanctionsRisk #TBML #RiskManagement #KYC #EBRD #TFP Irina Tyan Berna Gungenci Kilincoglu Khrystyna Rachynska

Wishing all our colleagues, partners, and friends a joyful holiday season filled with warmth and gratitude! 🎄✨ Thank you for your continued partnership and trust throughout this year. We're excited for what’s ahead and look forward to another year of shared success and growth. May 2025 bring you peace, prosperity, and happiness. #EBRD #TFP #SeasonsGreetings #HappyHolidays #TradeFinance