Economy

ITFC to Finance SMEs in 8 West African Countries

Published

8 years ago

06/10/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

In order to bridge the substantial trade finance gap affecting owners of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) in West Africa, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has launched a new initiative called West Africa SMEs Program.

The new idea was unveiled at a special event sponsored by ITFC at the 5th edition of the Rebranding Africa Forum (RAF) held in Burkina Faso from October 5-6, 2018.

ITFC disclosed that programme will mainly provide financing lines, capacity building and advisory services to partner banks and SMEs in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) nations, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, with a pilot project implemented in Burkina Faso followed by Senegal.

With a vision to be the bank of reference for SMEs and SMIs in Africa, and a strong presence in presence in seven WAEMU nations, Coris Bank International (CBI SA), has been selected by ITFC as the pilot bank to implement the West Africa SME Program.

This program will consist of the deployment of assistance to CBI SA to adapt and modernize its tools and its lending processes to further increase access to credit for SMEs and will also support SMES through capacity development with the aim to increase their bankability.

“The program was designed to support the West African SME sector by creating integration between business development and trade finance.

“As the backbone of the region’s emerging economy, these SMEs require improved access to finance now more than ever, and Islamic trade finance has a significant role to play.

“We are confident that the program will help enhance the utilization of trade finance instruments placed at West African banks for SMEs,” the ITFC Chief Executive Officer, Mr Hani Salem Sonbol, said.

In addition to CBI SA, key partners in the implementation of the West Africa SMEs Program include SMEs support institutions as well as various content providers for modules and tools and implementing agencies.

Also at the high-level event attended by several African Heads of States as well as Ministers and dignitaries from the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, the group announced a $1.5 billion Framework Agreement between the Government of Burkina Faso and ITFC.

As part of the agreement, ITFC will contribute to mobilizing financial resources to finance the export of agricultural commodities such as cotton and the import of agricultural inputs and foodstuff, as well as energy commodities such as crude oil and refined petroleum products.

It will also finance the extension of lines of financing to local banks to support local SMEs and the implementation of capacity building programs for the strategic sectors of the national economy.

“Burkina Faso is ITFC’s top beneficiary in Sub-Saharan Africa and we have since forged a solid relationship with the government to create an exemplary portfolio of operations that we can replicate in other countries.

“Our financing will no doubt go a long way in complementing the IsDB Group support for the country covering many sectors necessary for the country’s national development.

“The unique nature of our intervention remains as the integrated approach we adopt entails both trade financing and trade capacity development,” Mr Sonbol disclosed.

At the event were President of Burkina Faso, Mr Roch Marc Christian Kaboré; President of Niger, Mr Mahamadou Issoufou; President of Ghana, Mr Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; and the Minister of Economy, Finance and Development of Burkina Faso, Ms Hadizatou Rosine Coulibaly Sori, amongst others.

Economy

NASD OTC Sheds 0.36% as FrieslandCampina, Food Concepts Retreat

Published

31 minutes ago

30/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Food Concepts Plc helped root the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in negative territory, following a 0.36 per cent slide on Monday, June 29.

FrieslandCampina, which is the maker of milk brands Peak Milk and Three Crowns, lost N13.44 to trade at N141.76 per unit compared with its previous price of N155.2o per unit, while Food Concepts, which is the parent company of fast food giant Chicken Republic, declined by 8 Kobo to end at N2.43 per share versus last Friday’s price of N2.51 per share.

Consequently, the NASD Security Index (NSI) slid by 15.51 points to 4,261.56 points from 4,277.07 points, and the market capitalisation lost N9.31 billion to close at N2.557 trillion compared with the previous value of N2.567 trillion.

The bourse finished with two price advancers yesterday, with Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc up by N3.80 to trade at N88.48 per unit versus N84.68 per unit, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc gaining 31 Kobo to end at N21.40 per share versus N21.09 per share.

The volume of securities traded by investors on the first trading day of the week contracted by 75.9 per cent to 229,314 units from the previous 955,096 units, and the value of securities slumped 17.8 per cent to N24.6 million from N29.9 million, while the number of deals increased by 9.7 per cent to 34 deals from the 31 deals recorded last Friday.

At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.7 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc followed with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million

Economy

Naira Crashes to N1,383 Per Dollar at NAFEX

Published

2 hours ago

30/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira crashed against the United States Dollar by N2.70 0r 0.2 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, June 29, to N1,383.63/$1 from last Friday’s exchange rate of N1,380.93/$1.

This was influenced by FX pressure on the domestic currency, which also weakened its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment during the session by N6.06 to N1,831.64/£1 from the previous value of N1,824.90/£1. It also depleted the Nigerian currency against the Euro by 45 Kobo, trading at N1,578.03/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,577.58/€1.

However, it maintained stability against the greenback at the parallel market and the GTBank forex desk yesterday at N1,395/$1 and N1,387/$1, respectively.

Despite the pressure on the Naira, it is still trading within the expected range, as a result of ongoing FX reforms, stronger market liquidity, and increased transparency in the FX market.

Unlike in previous years, the improved stability is reflected in the relatively narrow spread between the official exchange rate and rates in the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment, suggesting that reforms introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are helping to improve price discovery and reduce distortions.

Also, Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the apex bank with the capacity to support the Naira and meet the country’s external obligations, have continued to trend upward. Most recent data published on the apex bank’s website showed that reserves rose to $51.29 billion as of June 26, 2026.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) lost momentum after it dropped below $60,000, remaining under its 200-week moving average as currency markets swung following the Japanese Yen slipping to four-decade lows against the US Dollar.

Strategy, the largest public holder of bitcoin, plans to sell more than $1 billion of BTC as part of a $1.25 billion monetisation program, a sharp break from Michael Saylor’s long-held “never sell” stance. BTC traded at $59,463.89.

Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.9 per cent to $0.0723, TRON (TRX) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $0.3196, Cardano (ADA) dipped 0.2 per cent to $0.1446, and Ripple (XRP) dropped 0.1 per cent to close at $1.04.

On the flip side, Solana (SOL) gained 2.5 per cent to sell at $73.99, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,587.51, and Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.01 per cent to sell for $552.58, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

NGX Diarrhoea Persists, Further Loses 1.57% Amid Panic Sell-Offs

Published

4 hours ago

30/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Panic sell-offs by investors have left the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited losing weight very fast, as it further gave up 1.57 per cent on Monday.

Yesterday, only 17 equities ended on the advancers’ log, while 45 equities finished on the laggards’ chart, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.

All the major sectors of the bourse tasted defeat during the session, with the insurance counter down by 1.33 per cent. The banking space lost 1.22 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.63 per cent, the industrial goods segment shed 0.39 per cent, and the energy sector tumbled by 0.06 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) stumbled by 3,682.70 points to 228,366.32 points from 232,049.02 points, and the market capitalisation slipped by N2.363 trillion to N146.542 trillion from N148.905 trillion.

Learn Africa lost 10.00 per cent to close at N9.00, MTN Nigeria also declined by 10.00 per cent to N747.00, Unilever Nigeria crashed by 10.00 per cent to N126.00, Austin Laz dropped 9.94 per cent to settle at N3.17, and Universal Insurance dipped by 9.90 per cent to quote at N28.12.

Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 4.08 per cent to end at N2.04, Cornerstone Insurance chalked up 3.45 per cent to trade at N6.00, Neimeth appreciated by 3.03 per cent to N8.50, Livestock Feeds climbed by 1.92 per cent to N7.95, and C&I Leasing grew by 1.90 per cent to N5.35.

Business Post observed a surge in activity level on the first trading day of this week, with the trading volume, value, and number of deals up by 156.37 per cent, 137.50 per cent, and 38.50 per cent.

This was because market participants transacted 996.5 million stocks worth N43.7 billion in 61,813 deals on Monday compared with the 388.7 million stocks valued at N18.4 billion traded in 44,631 deals last Friday.

Ikeja Hotel exchanged 305.5 million shares for N13.2 billion, Access Holdings sold 289.9 million equities worth N6.6 billion, Dangote Sugar traded 29.4 million stocks valued at N1.9 billion, Chams transacted 22.0 million shares worth N87.9 million, and Zenith Bank traded 21.2 million equities for N2.4 billion.