Kutoane Kutoane – CEO of The Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC)

What is the primary role of The Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa? The key mandate of the ECIC is to facilitate cross-border investments and the export of capital goods and related services by South African business entities. It achieves this by providing medium to long term insurance products. The risks covered may relate to events of a political and or commercial nature.

How important is the utilisation of natural resources for the growth and development of African countries? Natural resources have been the bedrock of the continent’s economy and continue to represent a significant development opportunity for her people. Statistics shows that natural resources account for more than 77 percent of total exports and about 42 percent of government revenues. To bring a sustainable growth and development path, the extraction of the resources should be buttressed by a mineral transformation process on the continent. To achieve such a transformation, Africa will need to overcome four major obstacles: access to capital markets, transfusion of the technological know-how, overcoming infrastructure hurdles and lack of political will.

 

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