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Tag: African trade

  • Nigeria is fourth in African trade barometer

    Nigeria is fourth in African trade barometer

    Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group, has shared some of its latest findings from the Africa Trade Barometer Issue Three report.

      The report, which assesses key economic indicators in Africa, highlights several noteworthy developments across African countries.

    According to the latest Africa Trade Barometer, Nigeria has moved up four positions from eighth to fourth in the country rankings. The recently launched Africa Trade Barometer provides valuable insights into Africa’s trade dynamics and opportunities.

    This edition highlights Nigeria’s significant role in shaping the continent’s trade landscape, analysing its state and prospects.

    The rankings are based on seven categories, including trade openness, access to finance, and macroeconomic stability.

    Changes in a country’s ranking are driven by changes in their aggregate score and relative ranking against other countries. Rankings are relative to the ten countries in the index and pegged on a scale of zero -100.

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    South Africa has the highest Tradability Index, while Angola has the lowest. Nigeria’s improvement in the Trade Barometer ranking is due to advances in the Quantitative Trade Barometer (QTB) and Survey Trade Barometer (STB) rankings.

    The country moved up from position seven to four in the Standard Bank (SB) QTB ranking and from eight to five in the SB STB ranking. This achievement is attributed to significant improvements in business confidence scores, ease of access to credit, and government support for trading.

    The report also examined Nigeria’s export and import statistics, showcasing its major trading partners and critical industries. By analysing the country’s trade policies and emerging trends, stakeholders gain a holistic understanding of the Nigerian market and its growth potential.

    One of the critical areas of focus within the report is identifying challenges Nigerian businesses face in international trade. It delves into infrastructure gaps, regulatory complexities and logistical bottlenecks; consequently offering insight into strategic measures taken by the Nigerian government to address these issues and enhance trade competitiveness.

    The 2023 African Trade Barometer highlights the policies and initiatives implemented by Nigeria to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and promote trade diversification. The report explores investment opportunities in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and renewable energy, providing a valuable resource for local and international businesses seeking to expand their operations in Nigeria.

    “We are excited about this comprehensive report, specifically focusing on Nigeria, which plays a pivotal role in African trade,” said Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank.

    “Through our detailed analysis, we provide stakeholders with a deep understanding of Nigeria’s trade landscape, the challenges, opportunities and potential for growth. This report will contribute significantly to Africa’s overall trade narrative,” Wole said.

    The 2023 African Trade Barometer is a valuable resource for policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and researchers interested in unlocking the potential of Africa’s trade ecosystem. By shedding light on Nigeria’s trade dynamics, this report guides informed decision-making, enabling stakeholders to engage effectively with the Nigerian market.

  • Afreximbank commits $100m to African trade

    TheAfreximbank backed $100 million Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) will support trade finance in Africa. trade finance into Africa to also mobilise foreign direct investment (FDI) into the continent.

    FEDA, a wholly-owned development-oriented subsidiary of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has been set up to implement the Bank’s Equity Investment Programme by providing seed capital to companies in Afreximbank’s key focus sectors, including agri-business; manufacturing; consumer and retail; financial services; technology; travel and tourism; transport and logistics; and industrial parks. It will invest across all market segments but will have its greatest focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.

    Read also: Afreximbank, Fund boost African SMEs with $30million

    The long-term objective of FEDA is the provision of equity capital and related financial, non-financial and support services to operators in Africa’s tradable and support sectors, with emphasis on activities that support intra-African trade and value-added exports.

    Addressing the pre-incorporation meeting, Prof. Benedict Oramah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FEDA and President of Afreximbank, said that the fund would expand Afreximbank’s offerings to include vital equity investments that would boost intra-African trade.

    Philip Kamau, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FEDA, said that a feasibility study conducted for Afreximbank had identified a funding gap which was inhibiting intra-African trade. FEDA had, therefore, been set up to provide equity and to leverage FDI to help close that gap.

     

     

  • NIMASA: Chinese maritime initiative ’ll boost African trade

    The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General, Dr Dakuku Peterside, has said the Maritime Silk Road initiative promoted by China to develop international shipping connectivity across South East Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Indian ocean will  create a new opening for Africa to advance and protect its economic partnership for the benefit of the continent.

    The NIMASA boss, who spoke as the chairman of the 29th annual session of club of ports of the Crans Montana forum in Brussels, Belgium, said the maritime silk roads come with a lot of benefits for the continent.

    He, however, urged African countries to be strategic in decision making in order to reap the benefits and avert some perceived risks inherent in the initiative.

    “Whereas, China is pursuing new transportation linkages throughout the Eurasia region and Africa to boost trade and enhance her economic status, Africa must key in to develop her port infrastructure, maritime assets financing and create jobs for her people,” he said.

    He listed potential threats such as likelihood of ports being taken over by the Chinese to the detriment of Africans, noting that the maritime Silk Road initiative will create opening for African markets to be flooded with Chinese goods.

    He also said as a result of the China driven initiative, Chinese policy may also affect port calls and hub decisions, warning that the oil tanker and gas markets will be affected by the construction of new pipelines that will connect Africa to China, which will engender Chinese political dominance in Africa if not carefully managed.

    He also advocated the support of the China led maritime Silk Road initiative, but warned Africa to do the needful to ensure that her economic interests is fully protected.

     

  • ITFC, Afreximbank support African trade with $100m, 50m Euros

    The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a multilateral financial institution, have signed a $100 million and a 50 million Euros agreements to support financing exports among African countries and the rest of the world.

    The deals were signed by ITFC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Hani Salem Sonbol, and Executive Vice President, Business Development & Corporate Banking of Afreximbank, Amr Kamel, at the Afro-Arab trade finance forum.

    The event was organised by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) in Dubai under the Arab Africa Trade Bridges Programme and by participants in the Afro-Arab Trade Finance Forum.

    The facilities are for supporting procurement from suppliers from the member and non-member countries, including local purchase, to promote trade across Africa.

    “This partnership comes as part of ITFC’s commitment to support the development of the African member countries’ exports as an important lever toward the sustainable growth, job creation and poverty reduction,” Sonbol said.

    He pointed out that the partnership was aimed at financing African OIC member countries under the “Arab-Africa Trade Bridges” Programme, a regional trade promotion programme that aims at addressing some of the challenges faced in promoting trade between the two regions and supporting Southsouth cooperation.

    Sonbol delivered the keynote speech at the opening session of the forum, focused on identifying the prospects and opportunities between the Arab countries and Africa, and the best ways to tackle the challenges that hinder the development of the trade flows in these countries.

    Kamel said the Afreximbank, established by African governments and institutional investors, saw the  agreement as a stepping stone towards greater collaboration in pursuit of the Bank’s shared vision with ITFC.

    He said: “ITFC has demonstrated that it stands shoulder to shoulder with the African Export-Import Bank as they collaborate to develop the African Continent and promote inter-African trade.

    “I see great prospect for the unfolding Afreximbank-ITFC partnership,” Kamel adding: “But I am mindful that realising the tremendous opportunities will require determination and hard work. We are committed to investing our resources in that direction.”

     

     

  • Afreximbank finances African trade

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has reiterated its commitment to promote and finance intra-and extra-African trade, its President, Benedict Oramah, has said.

    Speaking in Eritrea, when the country’s President, Isaias Afwerki received a delegation of the bank, Oramah outlined the bank’s current strategy, which focused on intra-African trade, industralisation and export development as well as trade finance leadership. He said Eritrea could benefit from its implementation when it became a member of the bank.

    President Afwerki urged African financial institutions to focus on assisting African countries to address the disadvantages arising from the underdevelopment of the continent’s economy.

    He said that despite the fact that Africa was endowed with 60 per cent of the world’s resources, the continent continued to be disadvantaged because of the underdeveloped economy which saw it exporting mainly raw materials and primary products.

    “Eritrea believes in working with financial institutions that can help in transforming the African economy,” he said, adding that, in the last 25 years, the country had been trying to invest heavily in infrastructure.

    President Afwerki expressed Eritrea’s willingness to join Afreximbank as a Member State and said that it would aim to be an effective contributor to encourage and ensure the creation of the environment for the delivery of the services for which the bank was created.

    Eritrea would implement the required procedures to become an active member of the bank, he pledged.

    Oramah commended Eritrea for the many changes it was implementing to transform the economy, including in the areas of transport, water and agriculture.

    Joining President Oramah on the Afreximbank delegation were Head of Communications and Events, Obi Emekekwue; Regional Chief Operating Officer, East Africa, Kudakwashe Matereke; Special Assistant to the President on Banking and Special Initiatives, Ekene Uzor; and Jacqueline Clarisse Motsebo of the Board Secretariat.

    The delegation also held a separate meeting with Berhane Abrehe, Minister of Finance of Eritrea, and Hagos Ghebrehiwet, Economic Advisor to the President of Eritrea, to brief them on the bank’s programmes and services.

  • ‘Visa requirement cause poor African trade’

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said the visa regime operating across Africa was one of the greatest impediments to the growth of intra-African trade.

    A statement yesterday in Lagos by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) explained that Obasanjo spoke during activities to mark the 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank in Mahe, Seychelles.

    It said Mr Wale Tinubu of Oando Group also gave similar view at the event.

    It said other speakers who shared the same view were Tony Elumelu of Heirs Holdings, Dr Paul Fokam of Afriland First Bank, and Jean-Paul Adam, Minister of Finance, Trade and Blue Economy of Seychelles.

    It said the speakers unanimously agreed that the requirement for visas for travel by Africans to other African countries made it extremely difficult to travel around the continent to conduct business.

    They noted that only a handful of countries, including Seychelles, had removed the requirement for visiting Africans to obtain visas before traveling in.

    They stressed the urgency for all African countries to abolish visa requirements for short-term travels.

    Obasanjo was reported as saying that the reasons often adduced for the visa requirement did not stand scrutiny as such short term travel for business posed little security risk.

    According to Obasanjo, there has also been no evidence that countries that have implemented visa-free travel have been overrun by any mass influx of people.

    He commended the introduction of a common African passport by the African Union, saying “It will help movement of people and consequently, intra-African trade”.

    The speakers also stressed the need for African governments to support local entrepreneurs and create champions to drive trade across the continent.

  • ‘Harmonised standard can boost African trade’

    ‘Harmonised standard can boost African trade’

    THE only way the people and continent of Africa can maximise the benefits of trade relations is for there to be an harmonised standard across the board, the Director General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr Joseph Odumodu, has said.

    According to Odumodu who emerged the new President of African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO), an organisation established some 36 years ago by 11 African countries, a combination of factors including low awareness, dearth of research, foreign dominance of trade by other continent are to blame for the poor trade relations among Africans.

    Going down memory lane, Odumodu recalled that “The idea of a continental standardisation body had received considerable impetus from the buoyant and optimistic mood that characterised the post-independence period in most of Africa. The mood then, under the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), was one of pan-African solidarity and collective self-reliance born of a shared destiny with standardisation viewed as a guidepost of the destiny and bedrock of African Economic Integration Agenda and a route to linking up of the fresh Africa’s economy with the rest of the world and to deliver the African Common Market for economic prosperity of the continent.”

    As to what his agenda is as the new helmsman at ARSO, he answered self-assuredly: “We will need to mobilise stakeholders and government officials to ensure political backing. It is common belief that African solutions serve best since they are home-grown and for this reason we will clearly see the need to have and develop our own standards and use them as a strategic resource.”

    Besides, he said: “Creating this awareness among us will not only re-affirm the work that ARSO does but will also ensure it reflects on all the importance and relevance to our respective National Standards bodies ARSO will offer the Standardisation Stakeholders the opportunity to focus more and more on a comprehensive African approach to standardisation as a strategic resource to Africa’s economic integration and an asset for improving Africa’s trade volume.

    “We should endeavour to sensitize and inculcate the concept of standards more firmly at our home governments, relevant agencies as well as national standards bodies (NSBs). It’s because of this that we will be able to fully realize the need to have an African Standards Day where we shall deliberate on ideas. These deliberations should enable us to look back and appreciate the work done by ARSO and how we can support it for the greater good.”

    In his assessment of the trade relations among African countries, he said it leaves nothing to cheer about.

    “Trade among African countries is abysmally low and we need to facilitate more trade among African countries. We are saying Africa can stop buying substandard goods coming into the continent from Asian countries by harmonising the issues of standard, conformity assessment that are in place and making them more useful to their countries. And there is need to severe bilateral ties with countries that bring those goods by not accepting to do business with them. We ought to be doing business with countries that are friendlier in trade agreement.

    “Africans are not trading with each other. I can tell you, if Africans are trading with each other, it is cheaper and more efficient. We need to build the African continent in terms of our capacity; we need to reach out and build ourselves to the level of other continents of the world, and the only way we can do this is trading with each other.”

    On the adverse effect of dumping of products in African countries, he said such practice was inimical to the continent and its people.

    “Africa has enemies who dump products on them at prices that make it impossible for Africa to compete; enemies who dump radioactive products on us without our knowledge because we do not have sophisticated infrastructure to test and detect these things, enemies who prevent us from developing on our own. If we fight these enemies as individual countries, we may not have enough capacity or capability to do so. But if we fight these enemies as a continent, it will be a lot more effective because the smaller countries will take advantage of the presence of the larger countries and vice versa and that is where we are going.