NEXIM Bank Disburses N420bn to Boost Non-Oil Exports
By Patience Ikpeme
The Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) has disbursed over N420 billion to exporters across the country, a move that has led to the creation of more than 12,000 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.
The bank’s Managing Director/CEO, Mallam Abubakar Abba Bello, confirmed these figures on Tuesday at a forum organized by the youth wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.
The forum, which focused on SME financing and non-oil export opportunities, provided a platform for Mallam Bello to explain how NEXIM is helping to drive Nigeria’s agro-industrial revolution. He stated that the bank’s various funding channels are designed to empower businesses for success on the global stage.
Mallam Bello spoke about one of the key funding channels, the Export Development Facility (EDF), which he described as an intervention scheme aimed at increasing access to funding for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the non-oil sector. He said the funds are disbursed at a single-digit interest rate of 9 percent.
“Export Development Fund (EDF) Financing is a N150 billion debenture from CBN to the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), with the objective of stimulating the non-oil export sector,” Bello said. “It’s a revolving loan. N137 billion has been released to NEXIM bank. We have disbursed over N420 billion, which is close to NEXIM Bank’s total assets. The number of direct jobs created, is in the region of 12,000. This is outside of the indirect jobs created along the value chain through our plants’ financing.”
He further explained that once exporters repay their loans, the funds are made available to other applicants. “Subsequently, we have gone beyond the Export Development Fund. Nexim’s total assets are around N430bn, and all our lending terms are the same as the Export Development Fund, with our interest rates at 9 percent. So far, we have funded exports to the tune of N420bn to exporters and created 12,000 direct jobs,” he said.
The NEXIM CEO called youths the “bedrock of the economy,” saying that without their inclusion, the federal government’s target of a $1 trillion GDP economy by 2030 would be impossible to achieve. “The youth constitutes 70 percent of Nigeria’s population. If youths are not in the center of production, the $1 trillion economy will be a mirage,” Bello said.
He also said that the bank is committed to ensuring that exports have “value addition” to earn the country much-needed foreign exchange. “We don’t export the raw materials but ensuring the export gets value addition to earn the country needed foreign exchange income. The value of non-oil exports has been on the rise since 2017 because of NEXIM Bank’s deliberate policy of value-addition infusion in all exported products,” Bello said.
He said the bank has a special consideration for women and youths in its export value chain financing and is ready to work with them to participate in the non-oil export sector. Additionally, he said NEXIM has worked to address issues related to loan collateral, reviewing the previous bottlenecks that were in place.
In his remarks, the APC Youth Leader, Barrister Dayo Israel, said the non-oil export sector offers significant opportunities for Nigerian youths. He added that the current administration’s diversification of the economy is a deliberate effort that comes with immense opportunities for job creation. “The growth in the non-oil export GDP this year tells us the diversification effort is working,” he said.
