African business aviation to get financing boost through AfBAA deal

Speaking at the show yesterday, AfBAA’s chairman, Tarek Ragheb (pictured right) , said an agreement with an as yet unnamed export guarantee agency could see a quarter of a billion dollar fund being confirmed in the next month.
“As vice president of Gulfstream in Africa for more than 20 years, I know that one of the biggest barriers to acquisition is finance,” Ragheb said. “It is particularly difficult in emerging markets. Now we will see an Africa specific fund that will allow owners to acquire their aircraft without having to leave the continent and through their local banks.”
He said that the fund was “just a start. “. “We recognise that it could mean just four of five of the large airplanes but the future could see other agencies involved in the funds and increasing to $500 million.
Ragheb said the African business aviation market was growing dramatically. Featuring some of the fastest growing economies in the world Ragheb said AfBAA would be closely monitoring the number of aircraft in the continent in order to get an accurate comparison to markets in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.