The Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr Abba Bello, yesterday in Abuja disclosed that all is now set for the disbursement of a ₦25 billion loan to Nigerian exporters in the non-oil sector of the economy.
The approval for the loan disbursement followed a judicious review of all the tenets that are applicable under the Export Development Fund. The review took place on Thursday during a meeting of the Board of NEXIM, Bello said.
He went further to state that the loan is one of the efforts that are geared towards facilitating growth in the non-oil sector, thereby making it one of Nigeria’s biggest revenue generators.
In specific terms, it is expected that the loan will support about 15,000 jobs while also ensuring the non-oil sector generates foreign exchange inflow to the tune of $100 million.
“The Nigerian Export-Import Bank has approved the disbursement of loans totalling about ₦25 billion in support of various projects in the non-oil export sector.
“Beneficiaries included exporters of agricultural and value-added products, who submitted applications for stocking facilities and working capital to enable them to execute their export contracts.” -Bello
Meanwhile, the loan disbursement is expected to commence with immediate effect, in order to take maximum advantage of “the export season towards achieving the economic diversification objectives of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP)”.
Exporters who are to benefit from this programme are those of agricultural produces such as cocoa, sesame seed, gum arabic, cashew nuts, leather, and other value-added products. However, only exporters who already submitted their applications will be qualified to benefit from the scheme.
This is a positive development for Nigerian exporters of non-oil products who have in the past struggled to scale their businesses due to lack of capital. Nigeria has the potential to export other products other than oil. A recent research study by Nairametrics found that the country is already one of the biggest exporters of sesame seed, which could potentially become the country’s black gold, but on the proviso that the right investments/credit facilities are made available.