In commemoration of the 2025 International Women’s Day (IWD), Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM) has unveiled The Women In Export Development Fund (WIEDF).
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NEXIM Bank, Abba Bello, speaking at the event held in Abuja recently, said the convergence was a testament of the Bank’s commitment towards advancing women’s empowerment, showcasing women’s challenges, achievements, sharing insights, fostering dialogue, and promoting actionable strategies for women empowerment.
“Nigeria, with its vast human and material resources, can only achieve sustainable development when women are included in all aspects of economic growth, particularly in financial empowerment and entrepreneurship.”
“Women and girls are at the heart of national development. When we empower women, we empower families, communities, and entire economies.”
Bello said that the bank has several product for women, including the Women and Youth Export Fund (WAYEF), The Small and Medium Enterprises Export Fund (SMEEF) and the Women in Oil and Gas Managed Funds; developed to impact women playing in the SME’s and the Non-Oil Export Value chain, and providing them with affordable credit financing under acceptable terms and conditions.
“As we mark this occasion, we commit to further deepen our interventions to increase the participation of women in the non-oil export sector. It is in this regard that we present another flagship product: ‘The Women In Export Development Fund’.”
Abba said the 2025 IWD theme “For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. Accelerate Action,” is a clarion call to empower women and address gender disparities, through strategies, resources, and activities that positively impact women‘s advancement.
“Women and girls are at the heart of national development. When we empower women, we empower families, communities, and entire economies”.
“With its vast human and material resources, Nigeria can only achieve sustainable development when women are included in all aspects of economic growth, particularly in financial empowerment and entrepreneurship.” He said.
In her keynote address, on the “Accelerating Action: Role of Financial Institutions in Empowering Women”, Former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, charged women to harness and capitalize on the opportunities presented by the reforms of the President Bola Tinubu Renewed Hope Agenda , especially around the exchange rate, to grow exports.
She further urged President Bola Tinubu to appoint a National Export Adviser to drive reforms and boost Nigeria’s export sector.
“I go so far as to call the President, to name a National Export Adviser. We need a figurehead that will drive reforms and break down all barriers to exports so that our world-class goods can get to the global market.”
She noted that Nigeria’s export-to-GDP ratio stands at 9.2 per cent, compared to other African countries, as such Nigeria does not need to reduce its imports into the country, but rather increase its exports.
“There’s been a lot of narrative around Nigeria. The narrative used to be Nigeria imports too much, but that is not true. The statistics do not support that at all. The statistics do say that Nigeria exports too little. So, if you look at Nigeria’s export-to-GDP ratio, it is 9.2%. That was the last statistic, that was before the re basement.
So, we need to look at the bottlenecks stopping us from exporting and exploit that opportunity, which is actually one of the key deliverables of the macroscopic reforms the government is pursuing.”
Nigeria’s export GDP is about 9.2, and with the rebasing, it will likely go down. If you compare that to Senegal at 23, Ghana at 30, and South Africa at 32, it shows that we are not importing too much, but rather, we are exporting too little. ”So, what we are saying is, not so much efforts on reducing our imports, we need to focus on increasing our exports.”
Drawing comparisons on the ease of registration and the need for accelerated intentionality, Adeosun said that “whereas it takes weeks to register as an exporter in Nigeria, it takes only 48 hours to register in South Africa”.
“By our last recording, there are about four steps to register as an exporter in Nigeria. Takes an average of two to three weeks, in South Africa, it takes 48 hours. So, if it takes long for me to go through various clearances, the chances are I will give up. So, we need to be intentional about the opportunity, and the opportunity for the ladies is in exports.
She also called on women to explore this window and also take advantage of the Small and Micro Enterprises Development Agency’s (SMEDAN) opportunities and the NEXIM Bank Women in Export Development Fund to ensure increased exports for women-owned businesses.
“It is not in imports, it’s in exports. Your products are world-class. Your products can compete anywhere in the world. And if you look at the trajectory, Nollywood is now growing, our music is growing. What should follow, our fashion, our arts, our crafts, our snacks, our foods, that’s the next wave,” she said.
Speaking, former Chairperson of Access Bank, Dr. Dere Awosika, posited that irrespective of gender affiliations, opportunities come with challenges, nonetheless, women must be amenable to embracing change and commit to lifelong learning.
She urged women to embrace opportunities that technology and artificial intelligence offer and resiliently explore every business opportunity in their sphere of influence.
“There are a lot of technological advancements amidst emerging global trends. Women must be willing to embrace change, commit to lifelong learning, be ready for continuous self-improvement, and stay abreast of industry changes to remain relevant in offering services.” Awosika added.
Unveiling the WIEDF product, the Executive Director, Corporate Services, NEXIM Bank, Mr Ibrahim Gaga, reaffirmed the bank‘s commitment to supporting women and girls close gender gaps in the business sector, through financial access and inclusion to further strengthen Nigeria’s economic indices.
The event featured two panel session on “Challenges and Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in Nigeria” and “Leveraging Technology for Business Growth” where panelists shared personal business growth stories and stressed the need for education, continuous learning, branding, collaborations, harnessing opportunity and the need to embrace technology.
NEXIM Bank, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of championing the growth of women in Agro business, also showcased and empowered a local rice processor in Benue State, Mrs Chidinma Oti “Chidinma Special Rice” to expand her rice business.
Executive Director, Business Development, Hon. Stella Okotete, in her remarks urged women to embrace self-development and resiliently breakdown age-long systemic barriers, adding that “women and girls have strong roles to play in boosting Nigeria’s economy and should harness the provided opportunities to excel”.
WIEDF is an initiative designed to accelerate action for women’s economic empowerment for women entrepreneurs involved in exports, by providing them with the financial tools needed to thrive globally, at concessionary rates.
Olusola Akintonde
Comments are closed.