IATF 2021: Nigeria to benefit from $40m trade, investment deals
By Kayode Tokede
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has expressed readiness to assist Nigeria in benefiting from over $40 billion trade and investment deals earmarked from the 2021 Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF).
The 2nd edition of the IATF is scheduled to hold in Durban, South Africa from Nov. 15 to Nov. 21, 2021.
Speaking at a roadshow in commemoration of the IATF, the Executive Vice President, Corporate Governance and Legal Services at Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, said the IATF remains crucial in supporting African integration and promoting the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a core mandate of the Afreximbank.
“Nigeria is the largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, representing about 17 per cent of the African Economy and about 64 per cent of the economy of West Africa by Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Notably, as of 2020, Nigeria’s imports from the African region relative to total imports was at 7 per cent, while the share of Nigeria’s exports to the African region relative to total exports was at 20 per cent.
“For those reasons, and many more, Nigeria stands to benefit the most from an Intra African trade fair, an event intended to enhance the trade of African states among themselves, and to meet the objectives of Agenda 2063 as declared by African Heads of State.
“Over years, the bank has supported and facilitated trade and investments in Nigeria through its array of financial and non-financial instruments.
“The Bank has approved over $26 billion in support of Nigerian public and private sector entities and is currently implementing several of its flagship continental initiatives in Nigeria.
“Some of these initiatives include the development of The African Medical Center of Excellence Initiative (AMCE) in Abuja, the African Quality Assurance Center being developed in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and the Afreximbank Africa Trade Center being in Abuja,” he said.
According to him, AfCFTA has become a framework for African economic recovery in the context of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Elombi said factors such as market fragmentation, lack of economies of scale, reliance on the export of primary commodities, under-developed regional value chains, and tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade had adversely affected the growth of Africa’s trade.
This, he noted, had resulted in a very low percentage of intra-African trade, averaging around 15 per cent and continuously subjecting Africa’s growth and development to external forces.
