Sugar Council, NEXIM Target $1bn Financing For Nigeria’s Sugar Value Chain

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) are targeting up to $1 billion in long-term financing to accelerate large-scale investment across Nigeria’s sugar value chain, as both institutions move to deploy patient capital to drive import substitution, job creation and export competitiveness.

The financing push emerged from a high-level meeting in Abuja, where the NSDC presented a framework anchored on the Engineering, Procurement, Construction plus Financing (EPC+F) model, designed to mobilise development-oriented funding for viable and policy-aligned sugar projects nationwide.

Under the proposed arrangement, the NSDC will originate and structure bankable sugar projects and support equity mobilisation, while NEXIM Bank will anchor capital mobilisation by facilitating access to international Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), coordinating syndication with other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), supporting foreign input financing, and deploying risk-mitigation instruments, including guarantees and commercial risk insurance.

Executive secretary and chief executive officer of the NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, said the partnership is aimed at addressing the long-standing financing gap that has constrained large-scale investment in Nigeria’s sugar sector, despite strong market fundamentals.

According to him, the Nigerian sugar market is valued at about $2 billion, while the wider African sugar market is estimated at $7 billion. He added that sugar by-products alone represent a market exceeding $10 billion in Nigeria.

“Nigeria cannot achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production on short-term capital. What the sector requires is patient, long-tenor financing deployed at scale and backed by policy certainty. By partnering with NEXIM Bank and international export credit partners, we are putting in place a financing architecture that allows serious investors to execute, not speculate,” Bakrin stated.

He said Nigeria is strategically positioned to serve both domestic and regional markets under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), provided appropriately priced long-term financing is deployed to scale sugarcane cultivation and processing at industrial levels.

He disclosed that the EPC+F financing model has already been deployed by the NSDC through an existing partnership with SINOMACH, a leading Chinese engineering and industrial conglomerate. Under the arrangement, financing of up to $1 billion has been structured at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus three per cent, with a 15-year tenor and a three-year moratorium, to fast-track the development of large-scale sugar projects.

According to Bakrin, the model is projected to deliver annual foreign-exchange savings of about $300 million through import substitution, create more than 50,000 jobs across the sugar value chain, and achieve up to 25 per cent import substitution within five to ten years.

He said the Council has also taken steps to de-risk investment in the sector and strengthen execution certainty, including efforts to codify the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) into law through amendments to the NSDC Act, in order to guarantee policy continuity and investor protection.

Bakrin added that smuggling and other practices encouraging the influx of cheaper sugar products are being addressed through stricter enforcement and more effective implementation of penalties.

He noted that large-scale sugar projects are designed to generate employment across farming, processing, logistics and ancillary services, with embedded outgrower schemes to integrate smallholder farmers into commercial value chains, boost rural incomes and promote inclusive growth.

Host community participation, he said, is prioritised through preferential employment, skills development, and investments in local infrastructure, healthcare and education, aimed at supporting social stability and long-term project viability.

Bakrin also highlighted the environmental benefits of sugarcane cultivation, describing it as a renewable crop and a year-round carbon sink.

“The sector supports value-added renewable co-products such as ethanol and bioelectricity, contributing to climate and energy-transition goals,” he said, adding that NSDC promotes environmentally responsible production models and sustainable land-use practices, alongside inclusive community and outgrower participation, positioning projects to attract climate-aligned and development-oriented capital.

He added that sugar projects are anchored on credible operators with proven technical and financial capacity, with community acceptance and land access treated as early-stage gating criteria to enhance bankability and execution certainty.

Responding, managing director of NEXIM Bank, Abba Bello, welcomed the initiative and acknowledged the strategic importance of the sugar industry to Nigeria’s economic diversification, export development and value-chain expansion objectives.

Bello said the Bank is keen to pursue structured partnerships capable of unlocking long-term financing, strengthening domestic value chains and improving Nigeria’s competitiveness in regional and international markets.

He commended the execution-focused approach adopted by the NSDC and reaffirmed NEXIM Bank’s commitment to supporting viable export-oriented and import-substitution projects that align with national development priorities.