Economy
NEXIM Bank Urges SMEs to Access N550b Export Funds
By Dipo Olowookere
Owners of Small and Medium-Scaled Enterprises (SMEs) in the export industry have been advised to take advantage of the N550 billion export facilities under the care of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) to grow their businesses.
Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Mr Abba Bello, explained that the amount was set aside to redress the declining export credit to SMEs and reposition the non-oil sector to increase its contribution to the country’s revenue generation and economic development.
According to him, the improved export financing for non-oil exporters will enable them to upscale and expand their businesses and improve their competiveness.
Mr Bello noted that the loan is given to SMEs in the exporting business at a maximum of 9 percent interest rate.
The N500 billion Export Stimulation Facility (ESF) and the N50 billion Export Development Fund (EDF) are managed by NEXIM Bank.
Speaking at a one-day seminar on ‘Leveraging Nexim Bank Facilities To Unleash Your Export Potential’ held at the Oaklands Centre, Enugu, organised by the Bank and the SME Centre, Enugu, the lender’s chief explained that the funds were given to NEXIM Bank to manage by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“NEXIM Bank is determined to ensure these funds achieve the desired impact of triggering non-oil export development, growth and economic progress in line with its mandate as the Trade Policy Bank of the Federal Government and the applicable CBN guidelines for the implementation of the facilities,” Mr Bello said at the event, where he was represented by Head of the bank’s Enugu Regional Office, Mr Chinedu Moghalu
Also, the representative of Enugu State Governor and Special Assistant on SME Development, Mr Anayo Agu, stated that the programme has come at the right time.
According to him, “the opening of NEXIM Bank Regional Office for the Southeast and Delta States in Enugu, and the invitation to the SMEs to access affordable non-oil export facilities had been the missing link in the efforts of various governments in the region to derive maximum benefits from their investments in the SME value chain, especially in the agriculture and other non-oil sectors. It provides us the platform to reach heights we could only dream about before now.”
The objectives of the ESF as contained in the CBN guidelines are to: a) Improve access of exporters to concessionary finance to expand and diversify the non-oil export baskets; b) Attract new investments and encourage re-investments in value-added non-oil exports production and non-traditional exports; c) Shore up non-oil export sector productivity and create more jobs; d) Support export oriented companies to upscale and expand their export operations as well as capabilities; e) Diversify and increase the level of contribution of non-oil exports revenue towards sustainable economic development; and f) Broaden the scope of export financing instruments.
The transactions permissible for funding under the ESF include, export of goods wholly or partly processed or manufactured in Nigeria; export of commodities and services, which are permissible and excluded under existing export prohibition list; imports of plant and machinery, spare parts and packaging materials, required for export oriented production that cannot be produced locally.
Other businesses eligible under the ESF are export value chain support services such as transportation, warehousing and quality assurance infrastructure; resuscitation, expansion, modernization and technology upgrade of non-oil exports industries. Stocking facility and working capital can also qualify for funding under the ESF.
Potential applicants to the ESF can either send their requests through their local commercial banks or directly to NEXIM as the revised CBN guidelines assigns the Bank a dual role of both manager and participating financial institution.
The N50 billion Export Development Fund will be managed by NEXIM and implemented in collaboration with the State governments.
NEXIM has earmarked at least N1 billion for each State under the State Export Development Programme component aimed to catalyse and incentivize export investment to promote diversification and industrialization.
Through the Programme, NEXIM Bank will also have a programme for Women/Youth Development, especially to provide support to industries that are involved in Apparel/Garmenting, Cashew, Shea, etc.
The Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele had stated at the announcing of the funds in December 2017 that the ESF can also be implemented by adapting the Anchor Borrowers Programme framework while promoting the PAVE initiative.
According to Mr Moghalu, “The overall aim of the ESF and EDF is to lower the costs of Nigerian exporters so that their products can be priced at a level where they can compete with other products around the world.”
The NEXIM Bank Regional head urged eligible export-oriented companies in the Southeast and Delta States with permissible transactions under the schemes to participate in the funding scheme by submitting proposals for consideration through the financial institutions of their choice or directly to NEXIM Bank. He emphasised that as Nigeria’s sole export credit agency, NEXIM Bank remains the only window through which the Government can provide export financing for non-oil products and services.
Thanking the participants and other stakeholders on behalf of the NEXIM MD, Mr Moghalu gave assurance that the Bank is committed to working assiduously, in line with its mandate, to fully realise the objectives of the schemes and stated a readiness to provide the necessary advice, additional information or clarifications as may be required.
He thanked the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN), the commodity associations and other organised private sector for their relentless technical support, partnership and collaboration as well as the commitment to work with the Government and private sector in Nigeria to diversify the economy, create jobs, boost industrial production and exports.
Other participants at the seminar were Southeast Government officials; representatives from the members of various chambers of commerce and industries; SME professionals in the banking sector; as well as the media.
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited have continued to show excitement for the full-year earnings of companies on the exchange so far.
On Friday, Customs Street further appreciated by 1.01 per cent as more organization released their financial statements for the 2025 fiscal year.
During the session, traders continued their selective trading strategy, with the energy sector going up by 2.47 per cent at the close of business despite profit-taking in the banking counter, which saw its index down by 0.11 per cent.
Yesterday, the insurance space grew by 2.16 per cent, the industrial goods segment expanded by 1.70 per cent, and the consumer goods industry jumped by 0.42 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,722.13 points to 171,727.49 points from 170,005.36 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N1.106 trillion to N110.235 trillion from the N109.129 trillion it ended on Thursday.
Business Post reports that there were 59 appreciating stocks and 19 depreciating stocks on Friday, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Omatek, Deap Capital, and NAHCO gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N2.64, N6.82, and N136.40 apiece, as Zichis and Austin Laz appreciated by 9.98 per cent each to close at N6.72 and N5.40, respectively.
Conversely, The Initiates depreciated by 9.74 per cent to N19.45, DAAR Communications slumped by 7.32 per cent to N1.90, United Capital crashed by 6.55 per cent to N18.55, Coronation Insurance lost 5.71 per cent to quote at N3.30, and First Holdco shrank by 5.53 per cent to N47.00.
The activity chart showed an improvement in the activity level, with the trading volume, value, and number of deals up by 33.77 per cent, 93.27 per cent, and 10.63 per cent, respectively.
This was because traders transacted 953.8 million shares worth N43.1 billion in 51,005 deals compared with the 713.0 million shares valued at N22.3 billion traded in 46,104 deals a day earlier.
Fidelity Bank was the most active with 92.4 million units sold for N1.8 billion, Chams transacted 69.2 million units valued at N310.9 million, Deap Capital exchanged 59.1 million units worth N382.7 million, Access Holdings traded 57.2 million units valued at N1.3 billion, and Tantalizers transacted 48.6 million units worth N228.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira contracted against the United States Dollar on Friday by 13 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to N1,366.19/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) from the previous day’s value of N1,366.06/$1.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian currency also depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday by N2.37 to N1,857.75/£1 from the N1,855.38/£1 it was traded on Thursday, and further depleted against the Euro by 57 Kobo to close at N1,612.52/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,611.95/€1.
In the same vein, the exchange rate for international transactions on the GTBank Naira card showed that the Naira lost N8 on the greenback yesterday to N1,383/$1 from the previous day’s N1,375/$1 and at the black market, the Nigerian currency maintained stability against the Dollar at N1,450/$1.
FX analysts anticipate this trend to persist, primarily influenced by increasing external reserves, renewed inflows of foreign portfolio investments, and a reduction in speculative demand.
In the short term, stability in the FX market is expected to continue, supported by policy interventions and improving market confidence.
Nigeria’s foreign reserves experienced an upward trajectory, increasing by $632.38 million within the week to $46.91 billion from $46.27 billion in the previous week.
The Dollar appreciation this week appears to be largely technical, serving as a correction to the substantial losses experienced from mid- to late January.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market slightly appreciated, with Bitcoin (BTC) climbing near $68,000, up nearly 5 per cent since hitting $60,000 late on Thursday after investor confidence in crypto’s utility as a store of value, inflation hedge, and digital currency faltered.
The sell-off extended beyond crypto, with silver plunging 15 per cent and gold sliding more than 2 per cent. US stocks also fell.
The latest recoup saw the price of BTC up by 4.7 per cent to $67,978.96, as Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 6.3 per cent to $2,021.10, and Ripple (XRP) surged by 9.5 per cent to $1.42.
In addition, Solana (SOL) grew by 7.3 per cent to $85.22, Cardano (ADA) added 6.1 per cent to trade at $0.2683, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 5.4 per cent to $0.0958, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 5.2 per cent to $53.50, and Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 2.3 per cent to $637.79, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher on Friday as traders worried that this week’s talks between the US and Iran had failed to reduce the risk of a military conflict between the two countries.
Brent crude futures traded at $68.05 a barrel after going up by 50 cents or 0.74 per cent, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures finished at $63.55 a barrel due to the addition of 26 cents or 0.41 per cent.
Iran and the US held negotiations in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on Friday to overcome sharp differences over Iran’s nuclear programme.
It was reported that the talks had ended with Iran’s foreign minister saying negotiators will return to their capitals for consultations and the talks will continue.
Regardless, the meeting kept investors anxious about geopolitical risk, as Iran wanted to stick to nuclear issues while the US wanted to discuss Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region.
Any escalation of tension between the two nations could disrupt oil flows, since about a fifth of the world’s total consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, as does Iran, which is a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
According to Reuters, Iran objected to the presence of any US Central Command (CENTCOM) or other regional military officials, saying that would jeopardise the process.
The current confrontation was sparked by more than two weeks of unrest in Iran that saw authorities launch a deadly crackdown that killed thousands of civilians and shocked the world. As reports of the deaths trickled out of Iran, US President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran if any of the tens of thousands of protesters arrested were executed.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s planned oil exports could fall by as much as 35 per cent this month via its main route through Russia, as the country’s top oil company, Tengiz oilfield, slowly recovers from fires at power facilities in January.
ING analysts have pointed out Iran’s neighbour, Iraq, and a disagreement with the US as another bullish factor for oil prices. It seems Iraqi politicians favour Mr Nouri al-Maliki as the country’s next Prime Minister, but the US thinks Mr al-Maliki is too close to Iran. President Trump has already threatened the oil producer with consequences if he emerges as PM.
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