CBN interventions boost Nigeria’s participation in AfCFTA

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is playing a critical role to facilitate successful participation of Nigerians in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

According to the apex bank, its interventions in the real sector of the Nigerian economy were targeted at boosting Nigeria’s participation in the free market agreement.

The Federal Government approved the ratification of the AfCFTA agreement in November 2020, and deposited the instrument of ratification on December 15, 2020, thus becoming the 34th State Party to ratify the treaty.

AfCFTA is projected to benefit the country by creating larger market access, free movement of labour, goods, services and capital. It is also expected to boost the country’s revenue through economic diversification from crude oil to value added goods and services.

The AfCFTA agreement is expected to, among others; motivate Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to expand their businesses to other African countries, foster business growth and increase profit.

It will also contribute substantially to the development of the manufacturing sector, and increase job opportunities and the demand for labour that will ultimately lead to reduction in unemployment and create opportunity for Nigerian professionals to seek employment in other African countries.

The CBN Governor,  Godwin Emefiele, says when fully implemented, AfCFTA will afford Nigerian companies preferential access to African markets worth $504.17 billion in goods and $162 billion in services.

At the Zenith Bank’s 2021 Export Seminar held in Lagos, Emefiele urged Nigerian businesses to seize the AfCFTA opportunity to ensure that Nigeria served as a significant hub for international and domestic manufacturing companies seeking to serve the West, Central and East African Markets.

CBN Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Dr. Kingsley Obiora, said the apex bank had been implementing various development finance programmes aimed at stimulating the real sector activities and diversifying the economy particularly in the agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare and other non-oil sectors.

Obiora, at a town-hall meeting with financial sector stakeholders, said, “The interventions include the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the Real Sector Support Facility, Export Stimulation Scheme and the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme.

“These examples are indications of CBN’s involvement and commitment to growing our domestic industries and boosting international competitiveness, particularly in preparation for the AfCFTA.”

He said the financial sector stands to reap immense benefits from the agreement due to the removal of certain barriers.

“We believe that the financial sector has the potential to accrue substantial benefits from the AfCFTA in view of the intermediary role of finance in facilitating growth and engendering sustainable growth.

“The critical advantage of the AfCFTA to the Nigerian financial sector would be the removal of barriers for the expansion of financial institutions and services. This advancement will foster the provision of financial service in the continental market at a reduced cost,” he said.

On his part, CBN Director, Monetary Policy, Dr. Hassan Mahmud, said the apex bank has a leading role to play in positioning the Nigerian financial sector to harness the potential benefits of the agreement.

According to Mahmud, the CBN’s monetary and trade policies are aimed at maintaining macroeconomic stability and promoting non-oil exports. He said the success of AfCFTA would depend on the ability of Africa’s financial service industry to serve as effective intermediaries.

“So far, Nigerian banks are currently ranked among the largest banks in Africa, with branches across countries.

“These banks with branches across the continent have an advantage that can be used to strengthen the participation of other sub-sectors. For instance, the banks can broaden their activity sphere into other areas of finance,” he said.

Director of Banking Supervision Department at CBN, Mr. Haruna Mustafa, noted that the apex bank saw AfCFTA as a vista of opportunities for the Nigerian banking sector, which has a crucial role to play in the successful implementation of the agreement.

“But they need to be well capitalised to be able to finance big ticket transactions. They also need to scale up in terms of their payment infrastructure to be able to reach out to Pan-African market. In addition, they should operate at the highest standard of their businesses to gain the confidence that will attract patronage to them,” he advised.

Mustafa said that AfCFTA would boost intra-African trade and global trade with 90 per cent tariff liberalisation, adding that it would enhance growth potential for intra African Trade by 52.3 per cent and global trade by six per cent by 2022.

“It will lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty. It will also provide an opportunity for the Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) to provide more credits to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that are engaged in the production of goods and services for export,” he said.

He added that this would provide opportunities for financial institutions to grant more credits that would grow their finances and earn them more income.

“Capitalisation will make the Nigerian financial institutions competitive to explore opportunities provided by the AfCFTA. They should adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS) and apply good business practices,” he said.

He called for the strengthening of cross border supervision of banks through capacity building of home and host supervisors to improve efficiency.