Creating Export Expansion Opportunities For SMEs To Boost Forex

As Nigeria as well its counterparts on the African continent seek increased foreign exchange inflow, there has been the need to create export expansion opportunities for African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) outside the shores of Africa.

This brought about the Africa International Trade Exhibition (AITE) which was held in the United States of America (USA) to promote trade between SMEs in Africa and North America to generate increased foreign exchange income, wealth, and employment.

The exhibition, which was sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria Limited, was themed “the imperatives of global trade for African SMEs as a game changer for the continent’s future prosperity.”

Speaking at the exhibition  the president and chairman of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, noted the need to promote trade particularly for SMEs on the continent to drive growth and development.

Represented by executive vice president, Intra-African Trade, African Export-Import Bank, Afreximbank, Mrs Kanayo Awani, Oramah said: “we must continue to leverage the platforms created by the Bank and AITE to forge partnerships, share ideas and contribute to the growth and development of African SMEs to ensure that their potentials as the driving force for the transformation of the continent.

“As l like to say, the opportunity is now, and it has a shelf life. I am grateful to the African International Trade Exhibition (AITE) for the kind opportunity to participate in this event. I congratulate AITE for building this unique platform to rally global investments and policy support towards the attainment of the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Agreements. These activities of AITE are significant compliments to Afreximbank’s trade facilitation agenda. We are therefore pleased to be associated with AITE and its activities.”

On his part, the managing director and chief executive of First Bank, Dr Adesola Adeduntan noted that the 2023 theme beams the spotlight on a sector that can be referred to as the bedrock of Africa’s economic prosperity.

“Africa’s SME sector is also a good representation of the unyielding and resilient spirit of the African people in the face of many daunting challenges.

“With a vision to become ‘Africa’s Bank of First Choice’, FirstBank’s commitment to the development and economic transformation of the African continent is unwavering and we will continue to make the required investments to actualize this goal. I make bold to say that, in FirstBank, Africa has a dependable ally.

“Indeed, it is the turn of Africa to rise, and FirstBank is strategically positioned to provide the required financial services support to the SME sector that will catalyse the next phase of Africa’s growth and development,” he stated.

In his welcome address, Visioner of the African International Trade Exhibition project, Tunde MacAlabi, said: “the AITE project is conceived to assist African SMEs to gain greater penetration in the North American market that has huge potential.

“The African American population in the US is 30 million strong, spending close to $1.2 trillion  as consumers. The popularity of our afrobeat music, the ground that it is gaining in North America and the globe is remarkable.

“With this idea, pushing authentic African made products into the market to rise on the wave of the popularity of our music can diversify the sources of foreign exchange income that we accurately need in Nigeria and Africa.

“Our effort is a complementary private sector driven initiative to help bridge the commercial gap to increase the commercial engagement between Nigeria, Africa and the USA.”

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development of Nigeria, Festus Keyamo, whilst speaking at the exhibition, noted that, “the importance of the aviation sector in Nigeria and any country cannot be overemphasised. The gains of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) cannot be realised without a robust Aviation policy in Africa that will enhance the movement of goods and personnel across Africa.

“We need to promote a robust Africa Aviation policy and find a way to liberalise the aviation sector within Africa.  I call on investors to come to Nigeria as the Aviation sector is the gateway for investment into the country, taking a cue from the speech of Mr. President yesterday to the world (during his address at the 78th Session of UN General Assembly), we are asking investors to come and partner with us as opportunities abound in Nigeria. We have the population, market, traffic and economy to support businesses.”

Encouraging Nigerians in the diaspora to drive foreign direct investment into the country,  the minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Uzoka-Anite, spoke on behalf of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu,. She said: “I enjoin Nigerians in the diaspora to invest in Nigeria. I know the spirit of being a Nigerian because I am one.

“We are very prosperous, resilient, persistent, bold, audacious. We like to make decisions in our favour profitably. We are also very warm and welcoming. Galvanising all these qualities and focusing it back home will lead to us doing a whole lot.

The A.I.T.E 2023 Business, Trade, and Investment Summit convened business leaders, entrepreneurs and government functionaries from diverse sectors across Africa and the globe.

Held on the sidelines of the 78th Session of UN General Assembly (UNGA), the event promotes networking amongst think tanks whilst being a viable avenue for organisations to showcase cutting-edge products and services, thereby building valuable business relationships to drive economic advancement and cooperation beyond the African continent.