By Moses Patience Chat
The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), has signed a Memorandum of Partnership with International Finance Institutions to enhance non-oil exports in the country.
The Managing Director of NEXIM, Mr. Abba Bello, and the Executive Director of Corporate Services, Bala Bello, and other senior staff members led the group for a working visit and strategic engagement with some International Development Finance Institutions.
Valuechain gathered that some important decisions concluded upon during the visit included the signing of a Memorandum of Partnership (MoP) with the Saudi Export–Import Bank. Key aspects of the MoP included collaboration in co-financing, club deals, syndication projects, and provision of buyers’ credit facilities to Nigerian institutions to purchase goods and services, as well as financing for project development tied to Saudi exports.
Both parties also agreed to seek opportunities to secure financial guarantees or letters of intent for credit-worthy beneficiaries for either Saudi or Nigerian exporters or international buyers, for purchases or project financing/execution.
The NEXIM team visited Dr. Mansur Muhtar, Vice President of the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), represented by Anasse Alsami, the Acting Vice President and Director General, Vice President’s Office.
Discussions during the meeting focused on promoting African Arab trade, mutual sharing of information, capacity building, and the ISDB Reverse Linkage Policy. The parties also discussed how Nigeria could benefit from ISDB’s programs, such as the “She Trade” and “Women Tech Stars” programs.
In addition, NEXIM held technical meetings with different institutions under the ISDB Group. These included the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISFD), to discuss how the bank and Nigeria can benefit from the ISDB Guarantee Facility Fund and Capacity Building Programmes.
The Bank also met with Nazeem Nordali, the Chief Operating Officer of the International Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), who is also the Acting MD of International Cooperation for The Development of The Private Sector (ICD), and other officials from both the ITFC and ICD.
In the course of the meeting, NEXIM discussed progress on the $200 million ISDB line of financing for Nigeria through the Bank. Other discussion areas covered opportunities for collaboration towards securing funding for port infrastructure in furtherance of the NEXIM Sealink project.
NEXIM also had discussions with Global Partnership & Practices (GPP) officials, represented by the Director of Resilience & Climate Action, Syed Hussain Quadri, and Nabil Ghalleb, Ph.D., Director, Economic Empowerment, during which the Bank called for a partnership to promote SMEs in Nigeria.
The GPP agreed to support Nigerian entrepreneurs through some of its initiatives such as “Business Resilience Assistance for Value-Adding Enterprises for Women (BRAVE),” and “She Trade Programme,” which supports women in trade, as well as “Women Tech Stars,” which supports women in technology.
In his remarks, the NEXIM MD said that the visit to Saudi Arabia promised to provide many benefits for not just the non-oil export sector but for the wider Nigerian economy.
His words: “Besides the $ 200 million Line of Credit, which is already being processed, the Bank hopes to secure additional credit lines and leverage the Guarantee Fund of the Islamic Development Bank.
“We also have the opportunity for capacity building, particularly in developing Islamic banking products, which will provide financial inclusion for some of our exporters, who hitherto, have not benefited from our regular banking products.”
