The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) has identified the South-South region as the emerging strategic hub for export diversification.
It said the South-South has access to infrastructure like ports and proximity to export corridors.
Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Abba Bello, stated this in Benin City at the opening session of a one-day NEXIM SME Export Finance Sensitization Forum.
Bello noted that the South-South offered offers immense potential for trade following successful agro-processing clusters in oil palm, cassava, cocoa, rubber, solid minerals projects and in the petro-chemical industries in Rivers State.
He said industrial hubs in the region were home to MSMEs along value chains that produced high-quality food products, chemicals, building materials and servicing oil companies.
The NEXIM bank boss said the industrial hubs provided products and services that would shape Nigeria’s non-oil export future.
Represented by Mr. Flaring Tianiyu, Bello noted that improved access to finance, robust infrastructure, and effective trade facilitation would help the South South region continue to be a strong contributor to Nigeria’s non-oil export growth.
He said the NEXIM Bank was working with partners such as GIZ, to address challenges faced by the over 41 million MSMEs in the country.
Bello explained that the EXCEL Programme was designed to identify, strengthen, and finance export-ready MSMEs across the country, by leveraging digital tools, providing targeted-training, and enhancing financial-inclusion strategies.
His words, “The EXCEL Programme enables small businesses to scale up their operations, improve quality standards, and trade seamlessly within regional and international markets.
“This initiative falls within the NEXIM Bank’s mandate of promoting diversified, non-oil exports, through inclusive financing models that empower women, youth, and small businesses to participate effectively in trade.
“In addition, through the Nigeria Export Academy (NEXA), a digital platform, the Bank is expanding export capacity, providing export advisory and enabling MSMEs to operate with greater transparency and efficiency. We are also onboarding SME clients onto the African Trade Gateway (ATG), a digital ecosystem powered by Afreximbank, which integrates risk management tools (MANSA) payment systems (PAPSS), trade documentation, and logistics support to facilitate seamless cross-border trade for SMEs within Africa”, Bello further explained.
GIZ Trade Advisor, Raymond Dangana, said major objective of the event was to sensitize participants on export financing.
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