Stakeholders identify non-oil exports as panacea for economic rejuvenation at Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar

Stakeholders unanimously called for support to Nigeria's non-oil export sector at Zenith Bank's 7th Annual International Trade Seminar on "Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria's Non-Oil Export Business Nigeria", which was held on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, at the Civic Center, Victoria Island, Lagos and virtually.

In his presentation of the goodwill message, the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia, CON, called for a concerted effort to diversify Nigeria's export base through the promotion of non-oil exports . Highlighting the importance of non-oil exports to the country's economy, Ovia pointed out that Nigeria exported cocoa and several other non-oil products for years before the discovery of oil. He cited the example of the 25-storey Cocoa House in Ibadan, which was built with the proceeds of cocoa exports. He pointed out that many countries in the world, such as Japan and China, have succeeded because they do a lot of innovation, production and manufacturing of goods and services.

According to him, we should also consider promoting the country's non-oil export sector through technology to create tech giants like Apple, Tesla and Google. And we already have tech companies in that mold in Nigeria, like Flutterwave, which has a $3 billion valuation, making it more valuable than some banks in Nigeria. Speaking further on the huge potential of Nigeria's non-oil sector, Ovia highlighted the phenomenal growth of Nigeria's emerging financial technology (fintech) companies such as Flutherwave, OPay, Interswitch, Kuda and Paystack, with stock market valuations of 3 billion dollars, 2 billion dollars, 1 billion dollars. billion, $500 million, $200 million, respectively. According to him, this underlines the huge opportunity in the fintech space. He also noted that the most capitalized companies in the world, such as Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Tesla, Visa, etc., are not oil companies but are in the technology innovation space.

In his welcoming remarks, Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Group, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said that Zenith Bank's annual business seminar has served as a real platform to deepen the conversation on export promotion in Nigeria, bringing together non-oil export practitioners and relevant government agencies to interact, explore opportunities and propose solutions to non-oil export challenges in the country. Speaking on the origin of Zenith Bank's annual international trade seminar, Onyeagwu said the fall in commodity prices from 2014 to 2016 was a watershed moment. According to him, “when crude oil prices fell from $114.55 per barrel in June 2014 to $28.76 in January 2016, with a concomitant effect on the availability of foreign exchange, it was time to turn to the sector. non-oil exports for more sustainable development”. currency source that is not sensitive to external shocks and price volatility.

Highlighting some of the key outcomes of the past six editions of Zenith Bank's Annual International Trade Seminar, Onyeagwu noted that the outcomes of previous editions have found expression and influenced policy initiatives. For example, the extension of the repatriation period for non-oil export commodities from 90 days to 180 days and the policy requiring shippers not to export without a Nigeria Export Commodity Form (NXP) number ) were recommendations from previous seminars. In addition, the need to incentivize exporters to repatriate their export earnings through official channels and the recommendation to establish export terminals in various export centers across the country were also featured in previous seminars. Also, previous editions recommended having export offices in commercial banks, which has now been instituted. He also said that Zenith Bank has trained more than 100 exporters through its Zero to Hero programs which provide a platform to prepare and expose beginners to become strong exporters by providing training on documentation, sourcing in products, market access and financing. He noted that Zenith Bank will continue its advocacy for the promotion of non-oil exports.

Delivering his message of goodwill, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, CON, congratulated Zenith Bank and its management led by Founder and Chairman of the Board, Jim Ovia, for its commendable initiative to organize an annual export seminar to explore opportunities in Nigeria's non-oil exports with a view to increasing the country's non-oil export base and ultimately increasing its percentage share of exports total. In his own words, “This is why the theme of this year's seminar 'Unleashing Opportunities in Nigeria's Non-Oil Export Activities' is timely and appropriate. Indeed, the global economy and structure are changing rapidly before our eyes. The old world economic order...