NAIROBI, Reuters – Afreximbank announced Wednesday that it has set up a program of trade financing worth $4 billion to protect the economies and businesses of the continent from shocks resulting from the conflict in Ukraine. However, the demand for funding is already higher than the funds.

Afreximbank, Cairo’s financial institution, announced that the board approved its Ukraine Crisis Adjustment Trade Financing Program for Africa at the end March.

The fund will be used to finance oil and metal buy-back, stabilisation of commodity export revenues and financing for tourism revenue deficit.

It stated that “given both Russia and Ukraine’s importance as sources of gas, raw material and grains, the outbreak and spread of conflict have wider repercussions globally, including adversely impacting African economies, particularly those who rely on fuel imports, fertilizer, and grain.”

Around 29% of the world’s wheat exports are from these two countries, along with 19% of all world corn supplies.

According to the bank’s statement, they had received funding requests totaling $15 billion.

It stated that it was urgent to address these concerns to prevent the creation of a famine in Africa, and to reduce their potential transformation into political problems.