ITFC passes $100 billion in cumulative trade finance approvals since 2008

The Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) announced in a statement issued in Jeddah on Monday, October 26, that its cumulative trade finance approvals have gone beyond $100 billion since it began operating in 2008.

ITFC is the arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group responsible for financing and developing trade. More than a third of that total, it said, has gone to least developed countries, where access to trade finance is particularly hard to secure.

The operations it backed in 2025 alone helped improve access to food for around 24 million households and access to electricity for some 17.8 million, according to the corporation. They also reached close to 460,000 farmers and opened up financing for 546 companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

ITFC said its funding has supported imports and exports of essential goods, food and energy security, and market access for producers and exporters. It kept vital trade flowing through financial crises, the COVID-19 pandemic and recent geopolitical shocks, it added, even as trade credit grew scarcer elsewhere.

“Crossing the threshold of $100 billion in cumulative approvals represents much more than a financial result,” said Adeeb Yousuf Al Aama, the ITFC’s Director General.

He said the milestone reflected nearly two decades of partnership with member countries, and showed what could be achieved by combining the corporation’s own resources with capital, expertise and partnerships mobilised within the IsDB Group and with financial partners.

The announcement comes as the IsDB Group rolls out its 2026-2035 ten-year strategic framework and its 2026-2030 five-year institutional strategies. ITFC said it plans to expand its trade finance activities, mobilise more private and institutional capital, improve SME access to financing, develop digital trade finance solutions and strengthen partnerships in member countries.