Whether you are a farmer, a processor, or a trader, there is a high chance you must have engaged with our clearing and settlement tribe from AFEX in some shape or form. This is the squad that is responsible for commodities procurement, resource management, sales operations, and client relationships to ensure a smooth flow of AFEX’s commodities sales in Africa.

On Tuesday, April 25th, we celebrated the first edition of the annual Clearing and Settlement Week; an event that sought to applaud the tribe’s success, achievements, and grit since the inception of AFEX in 2014. It was a fun week filled with seminars, excursions, shout-outs, giveaways, and more thrilling events Asides from recounting the numerous hurdles that had been crossed, it was also a time to re-strategize, re-evaluate, and re-energize on the operations moving forward.

The event emphasized the importance of working together across all departments, as teamwork is essential for creating a better and simpler work environment. As a Pan-African organization, AFEX is on a mission to be a reference point for commodities in Africa and this requires that the process of clearing and settling financial transactions follows the order of accurate and prompt delivery of funds from the buyer and securities to the seller.

Every day, the Exchange arm of our business ends each trading day with many matched trades. For the market to work seamlessly, demand and supply activities on the platform need to be cleared and settled quickly and effectively. This is the role of our Clearing and Settlement Tribe (department), who ensure that all supplies are settled, and all buyers are invoiced. The sellers receive their payments, and the buyers pay their dues within a set deadline to maintain a steady cash flow.

At the centre of the discussion at AFEX’s Clearing and Settlement week was how different teams can collaborate to improve and simplify solutions for the specific challenges that affect the smooth operations of logistics, the physical market, AFEX’s technology systems, and the customers who are the heart of the tribe. The topics included how to ensure cash availability, timely collection of funds, proper registration of farmers, communication, and prompt payment, which are vital for building and maintaining customer trust.

The Clearing and Settlement Week was a great experience that showed how technology and innovation have made a big difference for the tribe, and AFEX as a whole. We will continue to celebrate our wins in the improvement of our data analysis systems, KYC procedures, and technology systems while continuing to collaborate to drive the accessibility, reliability, and viability of the Exchange’s processes and operations.

Written by Gloria Oshuare Aigbavboa, Clearing and Settlement Intern.