By Dipo Olowookere
The Executive Director in charge of Corporate Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Kola Adeleke, has lamented the inability of Nigeria to explore the several opportunities in the export segment of the nation’s economy as a result of too much focus on oil revenues.
Speaking at the Ecobank/Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) webinar held last Thursday, the banker said the country can quickly tap into this through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which became effective on January 1, 2021.
He further said Ecobank will offer its platform to assist exporters in the country to exploit the opportunities in the AfCFTA, noting that the lender remains the choice in Africa for export trade.
According to him, Ecobank has a presence in 33 of the over 50 countries on the continent, adding that the pan-African lender also said its unique positioning, wide network, pan African payment switch, settlement capabilities, award-winning digital products and strategic focus for being the best choice for businesses.
“Our unique positioning in 33 African countries enables us to leverage our extensive network to reduce the number of financial partners and relationships in executing a trade.
“We own the switch connecting countries where we operate across Africa. This centralized switch enables easy integration. We possess knowledge of the local markets in which we operate resulting in unparallel financial advisory.
“We offer real-time settlement across Africa and our customers enjoy instant transfers across 33 African countries.
“Ecobank has a reputation for developing innovative products as the bank has won us several international, regional and local awards and we aspire to be the gateway to pan-African payments and trade,” he said.
Mr Adeleke reaffirmed that Nigeria is poised to gain from the investment and trade opportunities that the AfCFTA will inevitably bring because of its market size, supply chain infrastructure and abundant supply of professionals/skilled players in various industries.
He emphasised that businesses must strategically position themselves, endeavour to understand the dynamics of the ratification to be able to maximize the benefit and opportunities.
Nigeria’s trade figures in 2020
Business Post reports that last week, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Foreign Trade in Good Statistics said Nigeria recorded a total of N32.4 trillion in both its import and export in 2020 compared with N36.2 trillion in 2019.
An analysis of the report showed that Nigeria recorded higher imports than exports in the year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The value of total imports in 2020 stood at N19.9 trillion, 17.8 per cent higher than N16.9 trillion in 2019, while total exports dropped by 34.9 per cent to N12.5 trillion from N19.2 trillion in the previous period, leaving the country with a trade deficit of N7.4 trillion in the year under review.
Protection for exporters
At the Ecobank/ NEXIM webinar last week, speakers agreed that Nigeria can change the tide and grow its non-oil export earnings.
The acting Head of Export Credit Insurance at NEXIM, Mr Bashar Garba Illo, said the agency has put in place policies that will protect exporters in Nigeria against the risk of non-payment for goods and services exported on credit terms with a cover against political risk.
He stressed that the objective of ECI is to indemnify both internal and external exporting customers from losses incurred from any payment default that could arise from political events in the export destination country by providing cover up to 80 per cent of the value of receivables, subject to the Risk Asset Acceptance Criteria (RAAC) outlined for political risk.
He explained that the bank’s mandate is to support the non-oil export sector of manufacturing, agro-processing, solid mineral and services.
Ecobank’s support for exporters
On his part, the Head of Trade at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Chijioke Uzoukwu, said the financial institution is ready to support exporters with the provision of loans.
“In the trade service, we support customers from initiation to execution in the areas of documentation and compliance, working with regulatory bodies and other stakeholders.
“We also offer trade advisory solution like market information across Africa, trade specialist support and after-sales services. We have an electronic e-trade platform which provides an electronic frontend where the customers can initiate transactions and instruction from the comfort of their home and it will be delivered to the bank,” he added.
