Nexim Bank Budgets N285 Billion to Boost Non-Oil Exports

he Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank said it will commit a total sum of N285 billion within the next five years to support non-oil exports in the country.
Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Roberts Orya disclosed this in an interactive session with journalists in Abuja.
He said the bank has supported the Nigerian non-oil export with N20.04 billion within the last four years (2007-2010).
The Managing Director said the bank's strategic plan projection was to support the non-oil export sector in the 5-year funding intervention that would see it commit N37 billion to non-oil exports in 2011; N41 billion 2012; N50 billion in 2013; N63 billion in 2014 and N94 billion in 2015.
He said NEXIM Bank's funding intervention in support of exports had created and sustained a total of 6,000 jobs between 2009 and 2010. That, according to him, translated to additional foreign exchange generation amounting to an average of $100 million annually in the past two years
Orya added that the bank was positioned to create and sustain over 15,000 direct jobs including an estimated $300 million in foreign exchange, adding that the funding intervention would be aimed at sectors with high employment potentials like agriculture, mining, tourism, entertainment/ creative art industry among others.
He said the bank's efforts were aimed at supporting the initiatives of the current administration through the provision of finance and guarantees to enhance industrial capacities, capacity utilisation as well as support the acquisition and adoption of new and clean technologies. He said this will ensure competitiveness of Nigerian products and manufacturing operations.
According to him, the bank has also provided over N63 billion and $280 million in funding intervention to over 400 beneficiaries as wells non-funded risk bearing facilities of over $36 million and €11 million since its inception 20 years ago.
He added that the institutions has also intervened in the creation of over 50,000 tonnes of additional cocoa processing capacities, including 30,000 tonnes of rubber processing capacities and the facilitation of the acquisition of over 60 industrial fishing/shrimping trawlers.

James Emejo