The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), part of the World Bank Group and home to its Guarantee Platform, has partnered with Deutsche Bank AG to establish a €1 billion trade finance platform aimed at increasing access to trade finance in frontier and emerging markets.

This initiative is a milestone as MIGA’s first standalone, programmatic trade finance portfolio guarantee platform with a global commercial bank.

Junaid Kamal Ahmad, MIGA Vice President of Operations, said, “Trade finance is the ‘working capital of nations’ and essential to achieving the job creation and economic inclusion needed to improve lives and livelihoods in our member countries.”

“Our partnership with Deutsche Bank will help us leverage its extensive geographic reach and experience in trade finance structuring and execution, which aligns with MIGA’s goal to mobilise private capital as a multiplier for development finance.”

Platform overview and purpose

Under this partnership, MIGA will provide Deutsche Bank with guarantees that protect against the risk of non-payment in trade transactions involving eligible state-owned banks.

These banks often play a crucial role in facilitating the import of essential goods and supporting underserved client segments in frontier and emerging markets. By mitigating payment risks, the platform seeks to unlock trade finance capacity where it is most needed.

The platform is designed not only to expand overall access to trade finance but also to direct a meaningful portion of the trade finance volume toward priority sectors and regions. These include International Development Association (IDA) countries, Fragile and Conflict-affected Situations (FCS), small and medium enterprises (SMEs), agriculture, health, and water sectors.

MIGA’s trade finance guarantees provide protection against losses arising from the failure of a sovereign, state-owned bank, or public authority to fulfil an unconditional financial obligation related to a trade finance transaction. This risk mitigation is critical in frontier and emerging markets, where such entities often serve as key intermediaries in trade finance flows.

Strategic significance and development impact

This collaboration is a key step in scaling the World Bank Group’s support for trade finance through partnerships with private-sector financial institutions.

MIGA’s risk mitigation capabilities, combined with Deutsche Bank’s trade finance network, aim to sustain and grow trade finance availability in markets facing tightening risk appetite and increasing financing gaps, especially under current global economic conditions.

Unlocking trade finance in these regions supports the World Bank Group’s broader commitment to fostering job creation and economic opportunities in some of the world’s most underserved economies.

Gerald Podobnik, Global Co-Head of Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Bank, said, “This program with MIGA reflects our focus on expanding partnerships across the World Bank Group and other multilateral development banks and development finance institutions, enabling us to further scale our support for global trade and economic development.”

“Targeted risk-sharing structures can help expand trade finance capacity in markets where it is most needed. Applying this portfolio framework positions us to support more client activity, manage risk more efficiently and facilitate trade flows globally.”

Deutsche Bank has a long-standing and active relationship with the World Bank Group. The bank has participated in syndication deals with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) since 1959 and is involved in several World Bank Group initiatives, including IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program, Global Trade Liquidity Program, and the inaugural Trade Finance Synthetic Securitization.