Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah (2nd left), Segun Awolowo, Chief Executive Officer of NEPC (1st left), and Abubakar Bello, Managing Director of NEXIM (3rd left), joined by Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment of Nigeria, during the exchange of documents following the signing of the NATIPP agreement in Cairo
From Nik Ogbulie in Cairo
The African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) and Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the Nigeria-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme (NATIPP) to support trade and investment flows between Nigeria and other African countries.
The signing of the MOU was one of the highpoint of events during the Inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair taking place in Cairo, Egypt from 11th – 17th December, 2018.
Under the Agreement, AFREXIM will provide $1bn Line of Credit (LOC), which will be disbursed by NEXIM to qualifying beneficiary projects and transactions in support of Intra-African Trade and Investments.
According to the MOU, the fund is available to support growth of trade between Nigeria and other African countries with special emphasis on value addition, particularly in primary goods and commodities, with a view to enhancing local earnings and jobs creation.
The fund is also available to support capital and investment flows as well as projects being sponsored by Nigerians in other countries.
While speaking during the signing, the Managing Director/Chief Executive of NEXIM, Abba Bello, indicated that the Bank is quite excited to sign the deal as it will go a long way in boosting access of Nigerian exporters to investment capital and investment guarantee instruments, including the Small & Medium Enterprises thereby promoting intra-African trade and increasing the volume of formal trade.
In implementing this programme, Bello also highlighted that the Bank will be working with all stakeholders, including exporters/ prospective exporters, investment partners as well as other financial institutions, both domestic and foreign to realize the NATIPP Programme objectives.
