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Tag: NEXIM

  • Bash Ali, NEXIM Bank fight over N150m

    Bash Ali, NEXIM Bank fight over N150m

    Nigeria’s boxing champion, Bash Ali and his team yesterday barricaded the Corporate headquarters of Nigeria-Export Import Bank (NEXIM) over failure by the bank to provide N150 million to facilitate the hosting of Bash Ali’s Guinness book of World Record fight project.

    Bash Ali and his team had arrived at the bank in a convoy to keep a scheduled appointment with the NEXIM Managing Director, Robert Orya. However,   Orya was enraged by the large crowd that accompanied Ali to NEXIM Bank.

    Unhappy by this development, Orya told Ali to ask his team to wait outside while he (Ali) could come in for the meeting. Ali insisted on going to the meeting with his team which met with  stiff objection from Orya.

    Orya’s objection and Ali’s insistence degenerated to a hot exchange of words as Nigeria’s acclaimed boxer hauled unprintable verbal abuse at the NEXIM boss in the presence of police men drafted to the scene to prevent  breakdown of law and order.

    Ali said NEXIM Bank along with other corporate organisations were members of the Local Organising Committee(LOC) inaugurated January 14 this year by the Minister of Sports/chairman National Sports Commission to realise Bash Ali’s dream of making it into the Guinness Book of World Record title fight to be held in Nigeria.

    An angry Ali told journalists yesterday that: “Orya who was and is still a member of the LOC set up by President Goodluck Jonathan has refused to do what he is supposed to do four months into the inauguration. He claimed  he doesn’t have the mandate of Mr. President. We have called several meetings where he showed up and some other times he sent a representative. I got here and he said I should show him a copy of the mandate from Mr President”.

    On his part, Orya said the bank cannot give Bash Ali N150million because the bank is not set up to dole out money to support sports. He said he had been receiving abusive text messages from Ali’s boys which he drew his attention to.

    According to Orya: “I have been receiving all sorts of abusive text messages from his men. The chap said I am under obligation to give them money. I am not a member of the LOC but a member of staff. Mr.Kadiri Suleiman was mandated to represent the bank. It got to a stage last year that Bash Ali stormed here with a large crowd saying the Federal Government asked his committee to take N150 million from NEXIM bank. Funding of sports is not the mandate of the bank. If a Nigerian engaged in sports and as a government agency we want to support, there is a level to which we can support under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We don’t have an obligation to support Bash Ali”.

    Orya said the nomination of the bank as a member of the LOC was not a directive but a solicitation and leaves the institution with a choice to decline giving N150 million.

     

  • Sealink initiative’ll transform economy, says NEXIM chief

    Nigeria will be a major beneficiary of the sealink initiative by the time it is fully on ground, Managing Director, Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr Robert Orya, has said.

    He told The Nation that Nigerian products are in African countries, adding that the coming of the sealink is expected to facilitate and promote Nigerian products within and outside the continent.

    According to the NEXIM Bank chief, the Return on Investment (RoI) in the country is between 30 and 35 per cent, adding that it is the highest in the world.

    Orya said the Sealink Project is a major step in deepening trade within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region and a significant step in enhancing the trade flows of the ECOWAS member-states to create jobs.

    Other benefits, according to him, are to promote increased trade flows and opportunities for the people, considering the huge capital flight from the region through the absence of sea trade infrastructure.

    Orya explained that by the time the project is fully completed, it will encourage and enhance Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs) businesses because there will be market for their products outside the country.

    Orya said the funding requirement for the regional project which is $60 million, will soon be met as more investors have shown interest.

    He said the project is in line with the Transformation Agenda of the government, which projects investments in roads, railways, inland waterways, ports and airports development in collaboration with various stakeholders to evolve a multimodal, integrated sustainable transport system. Emphasis will be on rail and waterways, through an effective Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, he added.

    Orya lamented that it is more expensive to move goods from Lagos to Accra or Douala, Cameroon, than to move the same goods from China to Nigeria.

    He said: “It is less expensive to carry a container from China to Lagos. It costs about $3,500 to move products from Lagos to Douala while it costs about $2,500 to move the same products from China to Lagos. If you want to take goods to Tema ports from Nigeria by road, it takes six days with a lot of hassles but if you want to move it by sea, it takes 60 days because you will use European vessels to take the goods to Europe first and then bring it back to Ghana. However, with Sealink, it will take between one and two days.

    “So, a quick-win solution for us is to set up a maritime shipping company since most ECOWAS and central African countries are coastal countries. That way will liberate our countries and our businessmen and help them to keep the margins of their businesses instead of paying it to European shipping companies.”

  • NEXIM rated best performing African development finance institution

    The Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) has rated the Nigerian Export-Import Bank- NEXIM as ‘Best Performing African DFI.’ The decision was an outcome of the ‘2013 Annual AADFI CEOs Forum of African Development Banks and Finance Institutions’ on the theme “Strengthening African DFIs with Appropriate Standards and Guidelines: 3rd Peer Review & Rating of African DFIs” held at the Serena Beach Hotel & Spa, Mombasa Republic of Kenya from 13-15 November, 2013. The Forum marked the conduct of the 3rd Peer Review of DFIs with the AADFI Prudential Standards, Guidelines and Rating System (PSGRS).

    In the letter conveying the message to NEXIM Bank, titled: “Congratulation on your Rating as Best Performing African DFI”, Mr. J.A. Amihere, the Secretary General of AADFI, stated, “In the light of your institution’s rating as ‘Best Performing DFI”, we are pleased, on behalf of the Chairman of the Association, to extend our warm congratulations to your Board of Directors and Management Team on this record performance, and urge you not to relent in your effort at entrenching best practices in the operations of your institution as you continue to sustain your development financing mandate.”

    According to AADFI, the Peer Review Exercise with the AADFI PSGRS was not a competition but an approach to evaluate DFIs in the various areas of governance, finance and operation in order to identify areas of weaknesses for self-improvement and strengths for consolidation.

    Suffice to state that considering NEXIM Bank was in the ‘Negative rating’ for a long time before the Roberts Orya-led Management took office in August 2009, it is instructive to note that it quickly moved to ‘B’ rating in 2012, then progressed to ‘Best Performing African DFI’ in 2013.

    Continuing, Mr. Orya stated that “…the ultimate plan of the Bank is to invite an international rating agency, may be Standard and Poor or Agusto & Co, or any of such agencies to rate the Bank….ideally, this is the time for such a rating….”

    In concrete terms, between August 2009 and December 2013, the Bank has supported Nigerian exporters, mainly Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) in the MASS sectors, to the tune of N30.99billion, and issued Guarantees valued at US$27.30million.

    In terms of developmental impact to the Nigerian economy, the Bank has through its funding interventions generated/sustained over 21,075 direct jobs, in addition to many indirect jobs and facilitated the generation of estimated US$250.32million annually in foreign exchange earnings.

    In line with the strategic objective of building a profitable institution with a robust balance sheet, the Management has ensured an appreciable return on the equity investment of the shareholders. Accordingly a dividend for the 2010 financial year performance was declared and paid, which was the first time since year 2003 when dividend was last paid. Dividend for 2011 has also been declared and paid, while dividend for 2012 will be paid after the approval of the accounts by the CBN. This would make it three years of unbroken profitable performance, whilst fulfilling the Bank’s role as a development finance institution.

  • NEXIM disburses N30.9b to boost non-oil exports

    NEXIM disburses N30.9b to boost non-oil exports

    • Creates over 21,000 jobs

    Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) said it disbursed N30.93 billion and credit guarantees worth $27.30 million to indigenous exporters to boost non-oil exports between August and December last year.

    Its Managing Director, Robert Orya said this year alone, N9.38 billion has been disbursed to targeted sectors of the economy including manufacturing, agro-allied, solid minerals, and services sectors.

    He said over 20,000 direct jobs and several other indirect employments had also been generated and sustained through the bank’s operational interventions between 2009 till date.

    He said N1.82 billion had beeen recovered from its non-performing loan (NPL) portfolio, adding that the bank is constrained by low level of inter- bank funding operations and unpaid share capital subscription .

    Orya said to develop the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) market, NEXIM Bank launched the ECOWAS Trade Support Facility (ETSF) to reduce the level of informal trade and encourage the small scale exporters to use the banking system to leverage their operations.

    He said the bank was crafting new strategic objectives to enable it have a market focus and become a major contributor to non-oil exports.

    He expressed confidence in the country’s ability to meet its development goals.

    Recently, NEXIM Bank formed a synergy with Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

    During the meeting, Orya said NEXIM is facilitating the Sealink Project, which will culminate in the establishment of a shipping company to own and operate ocean-going vessels to boost trade within the West and Central Africa.

    He invited the NEPC to cooperate with NEXIM in making this project a success, adding that an Investment Memorandum to raise the take-off grant of $60million has been prepared in English and French and the private placement is expected to open before the end of January.

  • NEXIM partners NEPC on export promotion

    The newly appointed Executive Director/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, has paid a courtesy call to the Managing Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) at the headquarters of the Bank in Abuja, to discuss areas of possible collaboration and synergy.

    Welcoming his counterpart to the government trace policy bank, Mr. Orya thanked Mr. Awolowo and his team for taking the initial collaborative step, noting that the NEPC and NEXIM Bank were the principal agencies of government responsible for the promotion of non-oil exports

    The NEXIM MD provided the NEPC team with a snapshot of NEXIM Bank’s mandate, mission and vision, stating that the institution was established by Act 38 of 1991 as an Export Credit Agency with the broad mandate to promote the diversification of the Nigerian economy away from oil and deepening the external sector.

    Mr. Orya informed his counterpart that NEXIM is facilitating the Sealink Project, which will culminate in the establishment of a shipping company to own and operate ocean-going vessels to boost trade within the West and Central Africa.

    Lauding the phenomenal successes of the NEXIM Bank Corporate Transformation initiative, Mr. Awolowo informed the NEXIM boss that NEPC is also working on human resource realignment to drive export growth, adding that the objective of the new management was to increase the level of non-oil exports by at least 30% in the next four years.

     

  • Funds stall work on ECOWAS road transit

    Funds stall work on ECOWAS road transit

    The federal government yesterday said work is yet to commence on the Inter-State Road Transit (ISRT) initiated by Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) due to lack of funds.

    The project, according to the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Farouk Umar, has been delayed for a long time despite the trade volume of Nigeria within the West Africa sub-region.

    Farouk, who disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja at the 14th ECOWAS/ISRT National Guarantors General Assembly, stated that the Ministry of Transport was concerned and desirous of the take-off of the scheme, adding that between 2012 and 2013, the ministry has had meetings with the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), ECOWAS and the representatives of NEXIM where the issues delaying its take-off were extensively discussed.

    The minister, who was represented by Mr. Richard Egbe, said that the ministry is supporting the facilitating committee which seemed to be driving it and also identifying challenges hindering the operations of the Inter-State Road Transit (ISRT) and the way out by way of meeting with relevant government agencies.

    Earlier, the Managing Director, Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr. Robert Orya, who was represented by Mr. Ifeayi Nwade, said ISRT was also designed to eliminate the time-wasting escort system and checks the diversion of goods consigned for a specific destination.

  • NEXIM Bank: 10 % trade growth in West Africa unacceptable

    NEXIM Bank: 10 % trade growth in West Africa unacceptable

    The Managing Director of Nigeria Export-Import Bank, Mr Roberts Orya, has said 10 per cent annual intra-regional trade growth in the West African region was unacceptable.

    Orya spoke yesterday at a Sealink Investors Forum in Accra, Ghana.

    “Maritime transport is essential to the global economy,”he said, adding that effort should geared toward ensuring effective maritime service in the region.

    According to him, investing in the sealink project will facilitate efforts to deepen trade in the region.

    The sealink project is the initiative of the NEXIM bank in collaboration with the Federation of the West and Central Africa Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FEWACCI) and an Integrated Logistic Services provider (TRANSIMEX) based in Cameroon to facilitate maritime services in the region.

    The 60 million dollar project is expected to take-off by 2014.

    He said: “In pursuance of its strategic objective of deepening intra-regional trade, the bank has over the past few years noted that the level of intra-regional trade has stagnated at an annual growth rate of 10 per cent.

    “This is largely attributable to the enormous transportation and logistics challenges and non-tariff measures faced by traders and shippers.

    “These impediments to low trade level have made the west and central African Intra-regional trade uncompetitive and unattractive due to high freight cost,’’ he said .

    He said that the intra- European trade was currently at 70 per cent, intra-regional trade in Asia and America was at 50per cent each while in African it is 10 per cent.

    He noted that Africa had the highest cost of moving goods as most of them were  transported by road.

    Orya noted that the trade road corridor had been compounded with the growth of intra-ECOWAS merchandise in the past decade which had only grown from 4.7 million tonnes to 13.2 million tones without corresponding increase in the transport sector.

    He said that more than 80 per cent of the global economy was driven by international trade through the sea.

    “It is more instructive to highlight that of the 26 countries within the west and central African region, only five are landlocked while 81 per cent are coastal states.

    “It is gratifying to note that the sealink project would facilitate the realisation of the enormous trade-related benefit,” he added.

    He noted the benefits include, reduction of non-tariff barriers to trade, elimination of transit corridor issues, reduction of transaction cost to economic operators as well as enhanced fiscal benefits to various government through formal and documented trade.

    He added that the project would also augment the regional infrastructure development and deepen payment system with improvements in volume and value of formal and recorded trade.

    Chairman, Board of Sealink,  Mr Wilson  Kroffah, noted that for the region to integrate there was the need to have access to the market.

    “It’s a pity that in Africa, if you want to travel from one country to other, it’s a night mere. If you want to go by road, the roads are in deplorable state, even where the roads are passable, you have all the stumbling blocks created by man.

    “You have to pay exorbitant amounts, fortunately, we have the sea that has been given to us by God free and we can use it to connect with each other easily,’’ he said.

    He said the sealink project would not only facilitate trade, it would also facilitate economic growth and attract other continent to Africa, adding that it remained a private sector driven project.

    He urged participants to support the project to ensure its effective operation in the region.

  • Court dismisses NEXIM bank’s application for stay of proceeding

    The National Industrial Court (NIC), Abuja, has dismissed the application for stay of proceeding filed by Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank against its former employees.

    The presiding judge, Justice Oluseun Shogbola, gave the ruling on Monday while presiding over a case of non-payment of entitlements filed by Mr. Abdulrahman Omade and three others against the bank.

    In her ruling, Shogbola held that the suit bordered on employment and that section 254 (1a) of the Constitution (Third Alteration), 2010, empowers the court to hear the case.

    She held that granting an application for stay of proceeding was discretionary, adding that the grounds of the application relied solely on the issue of jurisdiction.

    “In granting an application for stay of proceeding, the court will weigh the grounds of the application and be sure that it has valid claims.

    “In the application before the court, the only ground of the applicant is on the issue of jurisdiction which is not a valid ground for the court to grant the application.

    “The application is hereby dismissed and the court shall continue with the hearing of the case in the interest of justice,’’ she ruled.

    The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the bank had in February raised a preliminary objection to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter.

    The judge had dismissed the objection in March and held that the court had the powers to exercise jurisdiction over the case

     

  • Nexim Bank and structural transformation of Nigeria’s economy

    Nexim Bank and structural transformation of Nigeria’s economy

    Nigeria is the natural leader of Africa. For decades, our dear country has been Africa’s foremost producer and 8th world largest exporter of crude oil to the international market. Nigeria is strategically located to take advantage of modern forms of transportation to enable her participation in cross-border trade, and build a virile domestic economy. Our population growth rate of average 3 per cent since the last national headcount of 2006 currently has the population estimate at more than 160 million. This in combination with impressive GDP growth average of 6 per cent over the last decade has more recently amplified the importance of Nigeria within the international community. Indeed, a stable country outlook brought about by our return to democracy in 1999, and the robust reforms which several organs of government have continued to deliver, are endearing the country to both local and foreign investors, chiefly from enterprise point of view.

    Our clime is one richly endued with natural and human resources. Therefore, the numerous and abundant potentials of Nigeria, which are widely recognised, actually include the opportunity for our country to provide the world one of the most inspiring stories of human development that China and emerging Asia seems to now tell exclusively. But the Vision 2020 tells that policymaking in Nigeria takes cognisance of our potential to leap forward in the global economic, and, in effect, diplomatic order in a few years ahead.

    However, it is evident that the important story of Nigeria’s advancement from where we are would not be told by earnings from our hydrocarbon reserves (although we have one of the world’s largest); our success would be driven by a robust manufacturing industry; self-sufficiency in agriculture for food and processing so that excess yields could tap export markets; world-class service sector to serve domestic industries, global outsourcing and export markets, and commercial access to wider range of mineral deposits that dot every nook and cranny of our country. The inherent limitations of crude oil-fuelled economic growth, in terms of employment generation, pro-cyclical access to funding for development, and corruption, have come to the fore after the 1970s when as a young nation we came into sudden and abundant wealth from crude oil sales.

    Structural transformation

    The structural transformation of the Nigerian economy is underway. Although we recognised it as a necessity, lack of national ownership and successful implementation elsewhere created the rally against the Structural Adjustment Programme imposed by International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the ‘80s. But since then, successive administrations have continued to harp on the need to restructure the fabric of the Nigerian economy. However, what the Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has done, perhaps more than any previous regime, is combine commitment with practical actions in diversifying the Nigerian economy away from sole reliance on crude oil for external revenue.

    The management of Nigerian Export – Import Bank (Nexim Bank), which I head as managing director cum CEO, has identified four sectoral anchors of the economic Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan (GCFR) in order to support it and enhance success of the programme. Succinctly, these sectors are Manufacturing, Agro-processing, Solid minerals and Services, which we encapsulate as our “MASS Agenda.” From the institutional viewpoint of Nexim Bank, I am excited at the prospects of playing a role in diversifying the Nigerian economy and harnessing the immense potentials of the sectors which had, hitherto, been neglected. Indeed, the role Nexim Bank is playing is unique as a development finance institution (DFI).

    Role of Development Finance Institutions

    Multilateral Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), best exemplified by the World Bank at global level, and African Development Bank (AfDB) at continental level, are alternative financial institutions. Their ubiquity is not represented by brick and mortar; quite unlike commercial banks, DFIs are not known by the high number of branches they have even in the high streets of Lagos, London, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, New York and Dubai. Rather, the spread of development finance institutions are seen in people and businesses they impact. Quite often, DFIs are bearers of risks which commercial lenders would term excessive, and therefore avoid. New industries, new initiatives, people without financial collaterals, projects which cannot pay commercial cost of finance, etc have been beneficiaries of funding by DFIs. This way, business formation can continue, people can continue to innovate, bias against social and reputational collaterals are reduced, and projects can be incubated and nurtured to when they can attract lending from commercial banks.

    In light of the foregoing, the role of development finance institutions are of critical importance in Nigeria where banking penetration is less than 15 per cent of the population, commercial lending rates are prohibitive, land titles are not even available to owner occupiers, but where innovators are born daily, and where we have to eradicate poverty. And of course, delivery of necessary (infrastructural) projects to aid implementation of programmes under the plan of structural transformation of the Nigerian economy cannot be funded by governments’ tax incomes considering several long-term projects that cannot be delivered by commercial lending. If this is true with government, it is true also for businesses, perhaps more so. Therefore, while at global level the World Bank lends to governments to deliver crucial projects, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) lends to private sector businesses. And in Nigeria, there are a handful of DFIs which are promoted by the government to support businesses beyond the limits and inclinations of commercial lenders.

    What Nexim Bank does

    Nigerian Export – Import Bank is the official and sole Trade Policy Bank of the Federal Government of Nigeria. In this regard, Nexim Bank provides financing, risk-bearing facilities, market information and value-added advisory services to businesses towards deepening export-oriented investments in the country’s non-oil sectors of manufacturing, agro-processing, solid minerals and services, for job creation and economic growth. This mouthful raison d’etre quickly introduces the ownership, functions, focus and goals of Nigerian Export – Import Bank. At the same time, it connects you to my passions and the passions of the executive management and staff of Nexim Bank since my tenure in September 2009.

    Nexim Bank is your banker if your business aligns with the objective of the Nigerian government of the day which seeks accelerated economic diversification and increase in export revenue through economic activities other than in the oil sector. Nexim Bank has provided 12 billion naira in lending to Nigerian export manufacturers in the period August 2009 to April 2013, with many of them carrying the “Proudly Nigerian” label on their products in the West African sub-regional market and globally. Similarly, Nexim Bank has funded agro-processing export businesses, to the tune of 6.6 billion naira over the same period.

    In the solid mineral sector, we are working in partnership with industry stakeholders to take formal mining off the ground again. Although mining is capital-intense, the Nigerian solid mineral sector needs more than funding. The legal and regulatory frameworks in Nigeria are works –in-progress. The Mining Act has been reviewed to reflect the ideals of all market participants. Nexim Bank has so far provided over 2 billion naira in early funding to help some commercial miners to develop their site in order to start operation and invite further funding from other sources apart from the long-term commitment of Nexim Bank to the nascent industry.

    The Nigerian Creative and Entertainment Industry Stimulation Loan Scheme (NCEILS) which Nexim Bank manages for the Federal Government reflects Nexim Bank’s adherence to prudential guidelines on crediting provisioning. Whilst the fund lends at below commercial rate, it is not a grant. It is meant to fund businesses across the entertainment value-chain including filming production, cinema operation, music recording, intellectual property development, recording studios, etc., as a revolving fund with repayment terms. Irrespective of the challenges operators in the industry have faced with developing good proposals, we believe this is a cultural issue, and not an insurmountable technical limitation. Thus, Nexim Bank has to date disbursed over 1.4 billion naira for the Fund. Entertainment industry project proposals under review exceed 5 billion naira in value.

    Including disbursements to the creative and entertainment industry, Nexim Bank has disbursed 8.5 billion to the services sector, covering support to transportation and hospitality industries.

    In my next article in this series, I will share my views on the drive for job creation under the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, and the role Nexim Bank is playing to sustain existing jobs in our focal industries while supporting creation of new ones.

     

    •Roberts U. Orya is MD/CEO, Nigerian Export-Import Bank

     

  • NEXIM Bank in Nigeria’s Path to Economic Growth – 1

    NEXIM Bank in Nigeria’s Path to Economic Growth – 1

    Let us begin by setting the tone for this interaction. We also appreciate the increasing number of our readers, the growing number we derive from the rise in the new callers we attend to every week. The entire MC&A DIGEST team appreciate the time and interest all of our readers invest in going through our articles across the newspapers we are published, each and every week. We also appreciate the fact that the options of readable publications open to you all are unlimited, so your interest and time invested in ‘fellowshipping’ with us, is quite a (real) cost.

    It is on the strength of that realization, we have continually dug deeper, to create literary images that have potentials to add value in some way, no matter how distant. For some time now, we have focused on Nigerian Export-Import Bank, looking at the institution’s role, relevance and importance, in our nation’s process of economic repositioning.

    As a consequence of the change in the global economy, and the emerging trend in relationship among nations, Nigeria, as indeed, every nation in the world, is at a crossroads; it is a time for nations to make decisions and take actions with utmost care. The decisions and actions taken by nations around the world, today, will have strong and critical bearing on the path of the given nation’s economic progression in the near future. For Nigeria, the decisions and actions taken today will, to a large extent, determine the path of our economic growth in the future. The options open to our economy (bearing in mind its peculiarities) are either the path of Value-Added growth or a continuation on its present path of resource progression.

    It is, however, important to immediately remind us, there is the urgent need to change the present economic path we tow for reasons we have listed in our articles in the past. Worthy of re-note, global economy is witnessing change in pattern and dimension. Economy of scale has shifted from size to sophistication. That explains the investment pattern of developed and emerging markets, where attention is shifted to (1) Human Resource development – education, training and empowerment (2) Technological advancement (2) Economic democracy (3) Industrialization.

    The emerging global trend is compartmentalization of the progressively inter-connected world we live in, along the lines of regional relativity, inherent resources and extent of economic development. So, in addition to the G8, G5… in addition to the old economic blocks, we now have the BRIC nations. All of these are indicators of the need for internally driven economic

    development, for survival in the new economic world and for relevance within the global space. Therefore, Nigeria, as a nation, need to give a more aggressive and focused attention to growing our economy by depending more on ourselves (and our resources), even as we consider the potentials of regional integration, economic diversification.

    The projections are well-derived: consistent economic growth rating, growing employment rate (at least 90%), vibrant investment climate, private sector-driven industrialized economy, enduring and globally competitive economic structures and flourishing international trade – all of these add up to determine the extent of economic development (of any given nation) regional and/or global competitiveness.

    As captured in Yr-2013 report on Africa Competitiveness, Competitiveness is about planning and investment. Competitive economies are rated by a careful consideration of the state of health of all of the factors, institutions and policies that determine a given country’s level of productivity – sets the path of economic growth.

    With the above-mentioned at the back of our minds, it becomes easy to appreciate the federal government’s efforts towards building a competitive economy, with the establishment of Nigeria Export-Import Bank – NEXIM. NEXIM as an economic development institution is driving our economic development, regional integration and global competitiveness by its direct involvement in growing our export-import trade. Closely linked with its immediate objective of promoting the nation’s export-import trade, are the multiplier effect impact of its direct achievements on the nation’s economy, in form of increased private sector engagement, industrial development, employment opportunity generation, diversification of the nation’s economy (aggressively stimulating investment in the non-oil sectors), and increasingly improving on our regional and global competitiveness.

    We have concerned ourselves with NEXIM Bank in the nation’s economic evolution, for the purpose of presenting a better understanding and appreciation of the institution’s role (and strategic importance) in the process. In our previous write-ups, we had detailed the bank’s pluses. In this phase of our tracking, we shall run through the major milestones of the bank’s engagement, of direct benefit locally, regionally and globally, starting withNEXIMSEALINK Project.

    As a concept, the Sea-Link Project is a game changer for Nigeria, Africa and the world; a product of deep thinking, based on careful resource engagement for immediate and long term benefits, of life-long impact. It can be likened to the discovery made by Mongo Park, when he sailed down the River Niger! Each time the Managing Director, NEXIM Bank, Mr. Roberts U. Orya talk on the concept leading onto the project execution, he concentrates on the details, with uncommon passion. NEXIM SEALINKProjectis about leveraging on strategic competitive advantage; the establishment of a dedicated RegionalSealink…as the solution to challenges of road transport across land boarders.

    The benefits of an efficient water transport system across the coastal corridors of nations within the region include faster transportation, a more efficient, safer and cheaper access to markets across the region, increased trade volume and the opening-up of international markets across African region. Nations within the African region will experience greater economies of scale as a result of this strategic initiative. So, Mr. Orya’s initiative was attractive to some others who now partner with NEXIM Bank, to see the project through.

    For Nigeria, NEXIM’s Sealink project will quickly open up new opportunities for export-import trade. More and more private investors will take advantage of the coastal transport system and market access to invest in bigger value export trading. More employment opportunities will be generated for Nigerians, and finally, our large population will experience greater value rating. Mr. Orya’s NEXIM and their co-investors are, together building a very important structure with potentials to aggressively stimulate a whole new level of economic growth opportunities for Nigeria and the African region. We should expect greater level competitiveness when this Sealink project becomes operational.

    The critical point to note here, beside the proactivity, creativity, hard work and daring investment ingenuity of the NEXIM team, is the potentials to actualize change and economic growth, this initiative has demonstrated. As we have always noted, NEXIM Bank is a change driver needing of greater investment. A financially healthy NEXIM Bank will enable a spin-off of greater economic gains for Nigeria, Africa and the world. Nigeria will enjoy a more advantageous competitive advantage at the global economic space, if NEXIM Bank is financially better positioned to exploit its potentials.