(MENAFN) German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Berlin will contribute over €37 million ($42.63 million) to the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) through the development bank KfW. This initiative is expected to stimulate up to $500 million in trade and investment between German companies and African markets, as stated by reports.

“We will see even stronger trading links between Germany and African countries, more investment by German companies on the continent, more value creation in Africa,” Merz said during a side event at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He noted that Germany already supports economic reform initiatives in G20-backed Compact with Africa (CwA) nations with more than €3.2 billion. The CwA, launched during Berlin’s 2017 G20 Presidency, was designed to promote private investment and drive economic reforms across African countries.

“Now we see many success stories in many compact countries already, more investment, more jobs, but our task today and from now on to scale this up,” Merz added. He described this stage as “a new phase,” or “Compact 2.0,” which this year welcomed Zambia and Angola, increasing the compact’s membership to 15 countries. He also congratulated Angolan President Joao Lourenco on joining the initiative.

South African Vice President Paul Mashatile commented, “I trust that through this engagement, we will strengthen the compact. We are confident that it will continue to unlock investments and help vigilant resilience,” highlighting the anticipated economic impact.

African Union Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf emphasized that the CwA provides a platform for implementing reforms that attract investment and support the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area protocol on investment.

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