Exodus & Co clinches US$141m deal
ZIMBABWEAN construction group, Exodus & Company, has signed a US$141 million ‘intra-Africa’ financing deal with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to expand its footprint across the African continent.
The seven-year term sheet, signed in Cairo, Egypt last week, is not only aimed at boosting Exodus & Company’s local projects but also the infrastructural value chain in the markets it operates.
“This strategic partnership with Afreximbank represents a significant milestone for Exodus & Company, confidence and support - by various stakeholders - in the firm’s delivery of hugely impactful projects, which can fuel, aid Africa’s development,” the company’s chief executive Progress Mambo said, adding “the agreement terms also reflected the solid relations between the Cairo-based institution and the local firm”.
Mr Mambo represented Exodus & Company during the signing of the deal in Cairo last week, while Mr Denys Denya, executive vice president, finance, administration and banking services for Afreximbank, represented the continental financial institution.
The Intra-Africa Invest Finance Facility was signed on the sidelines of the ongoing Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) in Cairo, Egypt.
The facility is earmarked to support Exodus and Company in its strategy to become a vibrant continental actor in the engineering and procurement sector in Africa by enhancing its capacity to execute large impactful projects.
“Additionally, this facility underscores the parties’ shared vision in fostering economic growth and continuous improvement of the quality of Africans’ lives,” said Mr Mambo.
Founded in 2007, Exodus & Company has morphed into one of Harare’s leading construction companies, which has followed up its development of the mixed-use Madokero and Mabvazuva estates. The firm has also been hired as one of the five local firms to rehabilitate the Beitbridge - Harare Highway which is now in its final completion stages.
And recently, it has started work on the US$360 million Harare - Kanyemba Road under a public-private partnership with the Government.
While the Zimbabwean firm has emphasised its desire to “uphold the highest governance and environmental standards” as it rolls out its projects, executives also say the Afreximbank deal shows the “partners’ shared commitment to the continent’s socio-economic growth and eagerness to harness regional capital for mutually-beneficial goals”.
“With this financing facility, Exodus & Company wants to significantly change Africa’s infrastructural landscape, while adhering to its known - and signature principles of ethical business conduct, practices and environmental stewardship,” company chairman Exodus Makumbe also said in an interview.
“As we swiftly move to formalise and conclude this ground-breaking agreement, we will ensure that all resources are successfully deployed for the completion and expansion of our projects as well as contribute to the broader economic progression and continent’s prosperity,” he said.
The Exodus & Company deal is the second agreement signed by a Zimbabwean firm at the Intra-Africa Trade Fair.
On Friday Afreximbank signed a term sheet with the Central Africa Building Society (CABS), a commercial bank in Zimbabwe for a three-year trade finance facility.
This CABS facility aims to bolster Zimbabwe’s productive sectors, particularly agriculture, mining, and manufacturing.