www. ceotodaymagaine . com CEO Today Af r i ca Award s 2021 - South Af r i ca - ECIC Projects and Exposure The establishment of ECIC is a government initiative that has proved to be successful, as well as invaluable. Over the past 10 years, ECIC has grown considerably in terms of business activity, supporting more than 57 export-led and investment related projects across the African continent and other emerging economies. Over the period 2011 – 2020, the aggregate nominal value of supported projects is almost R40 billion (see figure 1). Figure 1: Nominal value of ECIC supported projects (2011 – 2020) In supporting South Africa’s trade policy objectives, the ECIC has been instrumental in building trade and investment relations on the African continent. By supporting projects on the continent, ECIC also ensured that South Africa’s exporters were able to diversify their export baskets and markets away from traditional to non-traditional markets. This cushioned South African exporters against declining exports to traditional markets in the European Union and the United States of America, as these regions’ economies recorded slowing economic activity. In the 2011 -2020 period, ECIC concluded most of its transactions in African markets (78%), including, inter alia, Ghana (21%), Zambia (15%), Mozambique (14%), Tanzania (9%), Zimbabwe (8%), Malawi (5%), Liberia (3%), and Sierra Leone (2%) (see figure 2). Beyond the continent, ECIC also conducted a number of transactions in other emerging markets, including Iran (17%) and Russia (1%). In terms of sectoral composition, ECIC’s portfolio exposure varies across a wide spectrum of industries. A significant share of the portfolio (projects supported) was apportioned to mining (25%) and communication (17%) projects, consistent with the investment trends in the African continent. However, recently the portfolio exposure has since diversified to other industries namely the power (25%) and infrastructure (12%) projects, thus mitigating concentration risk. “ I believe that the strength of any achievement is rooted in the depth of passion and entrenched in the capabilities of employees that make ECIC what it is. Figure 2: ECIC insured projects in Africa (2011 – 2020) % of Supported Projects 0% 1-4% 5-25% showcase our time-tested and innovative risk solutions for exporters and the financial institutions backing them, as well as the cross-border investors. We have recently agreed with Minister Ebrahim Patel, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition to expand the mandate of the ECIC and broaden the scope of our coverage to go beyond supporting only export of capital goods and services and cover more widely the risk associated with export of value-added manufactured goods on short-term insurance basis. Our starting point and priority will be those sectors identified by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) in the Sector Master Plans. What does this award mean to you and your team at ECIC South Africa? I am honoured to have won the CEO Africa Award for 2021. I believe that the strength of any achievement is rooted in the depth of passion and entrenched in the capabilities of employees that make ECIC what it is.
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