CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE – Sean Edwards, ITFA Chairman

Dear Members and Friends,

Wow! Wow! Wow! What an extraordinary conference! With more than 400 delegates spanning across 12 diverse sectors worldwide, the support of 42 sponsors, and the participation of exceptional speakers and panellists, not to mention the superb venue, the ITFA 49^th Annual Conference could not have been any better!

We spent three enchanting days in Abu Dhabi, united by shared objectives: learning, networking, and, of course, enjoying the company of both old and new friends!

In this regard, I would like to seize the opportunity, representing my fellow Board members, to express our sincere gratitude to all those who attended even if just for one of the 3 days.

We extend our special appreciation to our unprecedented number of sponsors:

Exclusive Diamond – J.P.Morgan

Exclusive Platinum – Deutsche Bank

Exclusive MENA Lead – Mashreq

Gold – Afreximbank

Premium Silver Sponsors: Bank of China; Finverity; Texel; Swiss Re and WTW

Silver Sponsors: 360tf, Allianz, Atradius, BACB, Bank of America, BPL Global, Coface, Demica, DP World, Finastra, Komgo, LBBW, LiquidX, Marsh, Mercore, Pangea-Risk, RMB, SAB, Santander, SMBC, Triterras Inc, Trade & Working Capital.

Bronze: Africa Trade Finance, Axendo, BankABC, Enigio, Liberty Specialty Markets, MITI, Oddo Bhf, Sullivan & Worcester, Taulia, Unicredit and Zurcher Kantonalbank.

Thanks for your valuable support!  Hosting an event of this calibre would have been exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, without your assistance.

On a serious note, our event took place against the background of serious unrest and hostilities in the Middle East in which some of our members have been caught up. We are not a political organisation but everything we, and you as our members active in trade, can help contribute to peace and stability. Trade = prosperity = peace is a mantra we should all be proud of.

I personally extend enormous and heartfelt gratitude to my fellow board members and the always hard-working secretariat. Serving ITFA’s members and collaborating with such an exceptional team has been a tremendous honour. A true testament to our fantastic teamwork!

As we bid farewell to Abu Dhabi, we eagerly anticipate what lies ahead, having already embarked on preparations for our 50^th Annual Conference! As most of you are aware we will be heading West, to the fantastic city of Milan, in Italy. Please stay tuned and follow us on Linkedin for more updates.

Ci vediamo a Milano!! #ITFAMilan2024

I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of the newsletter, where you can read about an exciting conference panel discussion at our Abu Dhabi annual conference on change in Supply Chain Finance, our latest and revealing research, courtesy of Dr. Rebecca Harding, on the lack of a common approach to ESG reporting by the financial sector. We introduce you to our plans in the Americas for the near future and their new chair and board member Hernan Mayol. Finally, we provide you with a paper from S&P Global Intelligence on deceptive practices in shipping, a useful tool for your compliance departments.

And last but not least, we are proud to welcome the following new members Aspen, CredAble, Eastnets, Itau BBA International PLC, KOIOS Master Data Limited, UTC Information Technology Network Services Co. LLC (UAE Trade Connect), Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company

Best wishes,

Sean Edwards