Local News
Abba Bello: NEXIM Bank Has Disbursed N420 Billion Concessionary Loans To Non-Oil Exporters, Created 12,000 Jobs
The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr. Abubakar Abba Bello, has revealed that the bank has disbursed about N420 billion in concessionary loans to non-oil exporters, creating over 12,000 direct jobs.
Speaking during an interactive session with youth members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja on Tuesday, Bello said the funding—at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent—had supported small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in scaling their export activities.
He disclosed that N137 billion out of the N150 billion Export Development Fund (EDF) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2018 had already been released to NEXIM for distribution.
“When we came on board in 2018, not one industrial plant was processing shea in Nigeria. Since then, we’ve financed four—located in Ogun, Kano, and Niger States—all now in production,” Bello said.
He commended the federal government’s recent six-month ban on the export of raw shea nuts, describing it as a strategic move to stabilise local supply chains and cut production costs.
“The export ban guarantees a stable supply chain for these plants and reduces input costs. I believe we’ll now have excess shea for local processing,” he said. “Let’s not stop at shea. We should begin phasing out the export of unprocessed commodities across other agricultural value chains. This is how we keep jobs and wealth at home.”
Bello urged the government to extend the suspension to one year to further encourage domestic value addition, while also calling for wider policy reforms discouraging raw commodity exports.
He added that NEXIM is expanding support to service exports, including digital outsourcing, accounting, legal services, and event planning, provided such ventures guarantee foreign exchange inflows.
“If foreign exchange inflows are assured, NEXIM will finance service contracts abroad,” he said.
According to him, NEXIM’s total assets currently stand at about N430 billion, all dedicated to financing exporters.
Bello also encouraged Nigerian businesses to participate in African infrastructure projects, stressing that the bank would continue to back cross-border trade, SME growth, and youth-led ventures through training and mentorship.
