Economy
Afreximbank, Portugal to Promote African Fashion Across Europe
By Adedapo Adesanya
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Portugal’s National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE) have announced a three-year partnership to support and promote African fashion, especially the textile manufacturing industry in Portugal and across Europe.
In a statement, it was disclosed that the partnership was part of Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, which aims to facilitate investments in Africa’s creative and cultural economy.
The Cairo-based lender will do this through financing, capacity building, export and investment promotion, digital solutions, linkage and partnership promotion and policy advocacy.
The bank said that the cultural and creative industries in Africa had shown that with the right investments, they had the potential to contribute to the structural transformation of the continent.
They revealed that the partnership will create jobs as well as increase exports and other development outcomes.
It added that the partnership between Afreximbank and ANJE aims to address the challenges faced by African designers, providing them with the opportunity to access international markets while building their capacity through brand incubation.
“Within the framework of this partnership, ANJE, through its fashion project called Portugal Fashion, will provide African designers with showcasing platforms.
“It will also facilitate their access to international markets and strengthen their capacities through business mentoring and technical assistance in apparel production.
“In the long-term, Afreximbank and ANJE aim to attract more investment opportunities into the sector while developing the technical skills of African industry players, thereby improving Africa’s manufacturing and production capabilities,” the statement said.
It added that the programme was designed to promote at least 40 African designers annually on Portugal Fashion’s runways, noting that designers would also benefit from networking opportunities with international industry experts, retailers, manufacturers and other key stakeholders.
It also said that the inaugural fashion showcase which would take place in Porto, Portugal from October 13 to 16 would weave in Africa’s creativity in the arts including lifestyle, music, art and food.
In addition to the event, Afreximbank and ANJE have structured a partnership to advise and support European and Portuguese companies seeking to invest in Africa.
There, ANJE would act as a one-stop shop for investors looking into Africa and seeking advisory services and support from both organisations.
Commenting on the partnership, the President of Afreximbank, Mr Benedict Oramah, said the bank believed that the vast creative talent pool on the continent was an opportunity to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation.
“Through CANEX, the bank is providing tangible support for the development of an ecosystem to monetise the creative sector and increase its contribution to Africa’s economy under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“I thank ANJE for their visionary and bold leadership. Afreximbank is pleased to partner with them to undertake this transformational initiative for Africa’s fashion apparel and textile manufacturing industry,” he said.
On his part, Mr Manuel Mota, Vice President of ANJE, said the creative industries in Africa had immense potential to become key drivers for economic growth.
“I believe this initiative will have a positive and sustainable impact. It is a privilege for ANJE to host and work together with Afreximbank on this important milestone,” he stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
