The Nigerian Export-Import Bank has disclosed that the South-West region is the dominant force in the nation’s non-oil export sector, accounting for about 60 per cent of the total value.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director/Chief Executive of NEXIM Bank, Mr. Abba Bello, who was represented by the Head of the Lagos Regional Office, Daniella Jarikre-Ikazoboh, at the Lagos edition of the Export Readiness & Market Access Excel Programme themed ‘Empowering MSMEs for Export Opportunities’ on Wednesday.
The programme, jointly organised by NEXIM Bank and its partner, GIZ, seeks to address the challenges facing Nigeria’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises when it comes to export trade.
The PUNCH reports that President Bola Tinubu, in his Independence Day speech, revealed that Nigeria has achieved record-breaking revenue from non-oil exports. Tinubu said, “We have attained a record-breaking increase in non-oil revenue, achieving the 2025 target by August with over N20tn. In September 2025 alone, we raised N3.65tn, 411 per cent higher than the amount raised in May 2023.”
At the Wednesday programme, the NEXIMBank boss said, “As we know, MSMEs form the backbone of modern economies. In Nigeria, over 41 million MSMEs account for nearly 97 per cent of registered businesses, contributing close to 48 per cent of GDP and employing almost 88 per cent of our workforce. Yet, they continue to face challenges such as limited access to affordable finance, weak infrastructure, and capacity gaps that often threaten their survival. These are precisely the challenges the EXCEL Programme seeks to address. The Excel Programme was conceived as a transformative platform to identify, strengthen, and finance export-ready MSMEs through digital tools, targeted capacity building, and tailored financing.
Excel empowers small businesses to scale operations, enhance product quality, and access regional and international markets in line with NEXIM Bank’s mandate to promote non-oil export diversification and inclusive trade.
“The South-West region, anchored by Lagos as its commercial hub, accounts for about 60 per cent of Nigeria’s non-oil exports. The region’s industrial clusters spanning pharmaceuticals, agro-processing, solid minerals, fashion, film, music, digital innovation, and fintech showcase the creativity and enterprise that define Nigeria’s economic future. Through Excel, NEXIM Bank aims to strengthen these value chains and move enterprises from primary production to value-added export in line with our produce-added-value-and-export philosophy.”
Abba added that beyond the Excel programme, NEXIM Bank offers targeted facilities such as the SME Export Facility and the Women and Youth Export Facility to support inclusive participation in trade.
The timing of the forum was linked to continental opportunities, with Abba saying, “Lagos remains the creative heartbeat of Africa, and with its selection as the host for the Intra-African Trade Fair IATF 2027, there is no better time for Nigerian SMEs to position themselves for continental growth. Initiatives like Excel will ensure that Nigerian businesses are well prepared to seize emerging opportunities.”
Also, speaking at the event, the cluster coordinator of the Sustainable Economic Development Cluster of GIZ Nigeria, ECOWAS, Dr. Didier Djoumessi, who was represented by Sina Uti-Waziri, the Head of Component, Access to Market & Innovation/Access to Finance, stressed the importance of capacity building and finance.
He said, “This forum marks the third in a series of forums on export finance sensitisation. It underlines NEXIM’s leadership and our shared commitment to equipping MSMEs with the knowledge and access to finance needed to succeed in export. From GIZ’s perspective, supporting this programme really reflects our belief and our deep belief that Nigeria’s SMEs are the backbone of the economy and there’s an untapped potential for growth, and with the right connection of finance, capacity building, and markets, MSMEs can not only tap the African continent but go way beyond the African continent as well.”
GIZ, which stands for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, has been in Nigeria for over 50 years now, supporting Nigeria in its economic development path, with a strong focus on capacity building, both in the private and public sectors, said Djoumessi.
The Acting Regional Coordinator of the NEPC South West office, Mrs. Bolanle Emmanuel, who represented the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, urged the business owners at the event to prepare to tap the opportunities in the export market.
She said, “What you hear from this place today is going to prepare you more for being export-ready and to be able to tap export opportunities that are yet untapped. Several of them abound in arts and crafts, in textiles and garments, in solid minerals, and in tourism. They are all available for us to tap into. Well, how do we tap into these fields? It is often said that opportunity comes with preparedness. It is only when we are prepared through these kinds of programmes that we get empowered to be prepared to take such opportunities. I implore every one of us to participate actively and to engage and network, because we never know that the next person to you might be the solution to whatever challenge that you have.”
She added that there has been an increased appetite for Nigerian goods across the globe, indicating a ready market for exporters.
“We also know that Nigerian products are really on the rise and sought after Africa-wide and on an international level. African goods, but also Nigerian goods, are more and more sought after. And of course, we also know that the international trade system is changing. AGOA has officially ended. We know that many countries are looking inwards. We have basically a trade war going on. Nonetheless, we can also make this an opportunity. The AFCFTA area is opening up more and more.”
Participants at the programme raised some of the challenges that they face and sought solutions from NEXIM Bank and its partners.
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS PAPER
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