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Manufacturing exporters receive NEXIM’s N12bn in funding

By BusinessNews Staff on October 12, 2013

Nigerian Export–Import Bank (NEXIM)has stated that it has provided N12 billion in lending to Nigerian export manufacturers, many of who carry the “Proudly Nigerian” label on their products in the West African sub-regional market and globally naira in the period August 2009 to April 2013.

Similarly, the bank says it has funded Agro-processing export businesses to the tune of 6.6 billion

Managing Director of the Bank, Roberts Orya who stated this in an interview in Abuja, said agriculture alone contributes over 40 percent to GDP with investment opportunities in cash crops like cocoa, rubber, cashew, oil palm, gumarabic among others.

“The Nigerian government seeks to develop value-chains in high potential crops and other agriculture commodities, including tomatoes, soya beans, cotton, rice, maize and cassava. In the area of mineral resources, Nigeria has over 34 solid minerals in commercial quantities.

Orya said Nigeria is now more attractive as an investor destination with an increase in inflow of Foreign Direct Investment, (FDI) to $8.9 billion in 2011 from $4.9 billion in 2004 while total merchandise trade increased from $118.93 billion in 2010 to $153.1 billion in 2011.

Lamenting the insignificant volume of trade between African nations, the MD said the non oil sector in Nigeria offers huge investment opportunities, noting that “Nigeria is a major producer of food and cash crops and the Nigerian government seeks to develop values chains particularly for value added products like tomato, soya bean, cotton, rice, Maize, cassava, leather and wood products.

“With an annual food deficit growth of 3.4% reaching $22billion in 2011 according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Nigeria can contribute to food security in Africa,” he said.

Orya said the bank is committed to diversifying the Nigerian economy by promoting non oil activities saying that is why the bank has come up with a new product: ECOWAS Trade Support Facility to tack trade within West Africa and get a lot of them recorded and also facilitating the sealink project to enhance efficient maritime transport system.

“The current transportation system is inefficient and fraught with high cases of excessive transit time which makes inter regional trade in Africa non competitive and the West and Central African transport and Logistics costs the highest in the world.

[Vanguard]

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