BEFORE the discovery of oil, Nigeria had made great advancements in textile, agricultural, solid minerals and manufacturing sectors.

It is then baffling why countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, which sustained the tempo of their economic growth, are now ranked among global economic heavy weights, while Nigeria remains a consuming and import-dependent nation. But happily there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.

A key concept in the President Goodluck Jonathan transformation agenda is the diversification of Nigeria’s other economic endowments so as to realise the economic potentialities in various sectors. It is against this backdrop that the efforts of the Jonathan administration in reforming the power sector are commendable. The power sector remains the flagship of Nigeria’s economic growth. It is the base upon which other sectors of the economy can grow.

President Jonathan took the bull by the horn by unbundling the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN. Hitherto every effort made to reposition the power sector did not yield the desired results. But with electricity coming under the control of the private sector, it is expected that investors will cash in on the opportunity.

The Nigeria Export-Import Bank, being a key player in the diversification of Nigeria’s economy, has been in the forefront of encouraging the private-sector driven ventures in Nigeria. It is against this background that Nexim Bank, established by Act 38 of 1991 as an export credit agency to promote diversification of the Nigerian economy and deepen the external sector through the provision of credit facilities in both local and foreign currencies, risk bearing facilities, business development, financial advisory services and trade, and market information services, has initiated a working blueprint, spanning 2010 and 2015, to propel the non-oil sectors of Nigeria’s economy to an appreciable level. The bank, in its bid to finance non-oil export, has supported Nigerian exporters, mainly the small and medium enterprises, SMEs, with some engaged in Greenfield projects, to the tune of N23.33 billion and issued guarantees valued at $27.3 million between 2009 and August 2012.

The bank, which was voted the best development bank in Africa recently, has deepened its commitment to the course of stronger performance of the Nigerian external sector. Nexim Bank, under the able-leadership of Mr Roberts Orya, has budgeted about N42 billion for the manufacturing sector’s financing requirement, or six per cent of the manufacturing sector’s financing needs, while accounting for at least 3.71 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product, GDP, by 2015. Nexim Bank is aware that the only way to harness the potentialities attendant to the private sector-driven economy is regular power supply. To this end, it has scaled up its interventions in the manufacturing, agro-processing, solid mineral and service sectors.

According to Mr Orya: “These sectors play the important game of numbers; they hold the opportunities for creation of possible highest number of sectoral jobs, and they have huge potentialities for foreign exchange earnings.”

With the support of Nexim Bank, Nigeria’s manufacturing sector has been growing, thus giving the hope that the high unemployment prevalent in the country will soon be a thing of the past. According to Yomi Tokosi, MD/CEO, Riggs Ventures W/A Plc:     “Nexim Bank played a pivotal role in the actualisation of the expansion of our polypropylene sacks manufacturing company by providing the guarantee we needed to obtain the dual tranche facility from African-Export-Import. Nexim Bank also provided us with a medium-term facility for the expansion and renovation of our factory.”

The National Bureau of Statistics has also attested to the fact that the performance of the manufacturing sector has been strengthened. According to the NBS, the sector grew by 8. 41 per cent in Q1 2013. The record of the NBS is not far from the fact that NEXIM Bank has been working closely with some manufacturers in Nigeria through its mass agenda. Echoing the words of Nexim Bank’s CEO: “We thought that the manufacturing, agro-processing, solid minerals and services sectors were very important frontiers of job-rich growth that the country needed to give welfarist meaning to the impressive GDP growth Nigeria has experienced since much of the last decade. … Our interventions usually assist manufacturers to adopt new technology in the form of new equipment and machinery. … By 2015 Nexim Bank aims to provide about N42 billion in short and long-term financing to the manufacturing sector. … With this, we hope to directly mediate about 4 percent of total production value in manufacturing, and create and support over 70, 000 jobs.”

In the entertainment industry, the bank under Mr Orya is not resting on its oars. It is no more news that Nigeria’s entertainment industry is growing by leaps and bounds. President Jonathan has been exemplary in encouraging the entertainment industry which currently enjoys global comparative advantage. This informed his launch of the Entertainment Industry Fund in 2011. The management of the fund is under the saddle of Nexim Bank in line with its mandate to support businesses, including the creative and entertainment sector which has capacities to create jobs and earn foreign exchange for the country. Through its management of the Nigerian Creative and Entertainment Industry Stimulation Loan Scheme, the bank has helped in raising the international profile of Nollywood. For example ‘Dr Bello’, an international film financed with the fund was premiered in Washington DC at the Kennedy Centre in 2012.

In the environmental sector, Nexim Bank has been proactive in ensuring sustainable environment in the country. The bank has been investing in knowledge acquisition. It is currently seeking technical collaboration with other development agencies to help develop carbon finance and climate change mitigation in the country. Although hope of a global agreement for trading carbon credit from emission cuts will probably not crystalise, experts believe that funding continues to flourish. Furthermore, investments in environmental sustainability can generate enough returns in preservation of the natural environment and endangered species apart from slowing down global warming and reducing environment pollution.

Mr Orya also shared his thoughts on how Nexim Bank is helping to promote the transformation agenda as it affects the solid minerals sector. According to him: “Nexim Bank’s intervention in the solid mineral sector is structured as is the case with other three sectors of focus. We combine funding with capacity-building. We engage stakeholders to identify obstacles to the growth of the solid mineral sector. And we look at efficient ways to remove the barriers.”

The development of Nigeria’s solid mineral sector is a global challenge. It involves not only making the sector merely open for investors but providing the atmosphere for such operations to be conducive. This Nexim Bank has come to fill the gap in conjunction with other stakeholders.

In the words of Roberts Orya, “Once we have the initial local private investment in place, with government approval, I am pretty confident that foreign capital will follow. Like the oil and gas sector, we can attract global companies to come here (Nigeria) and invest in the solid mineral sector.”

The sealink initiative is another landmark of Nexim Bank. The concept is in tandem with the project of the Economic Community of West African States for free movement of persons, goods and services within the sub-region. According to Mr. Orya, the Sealink project offers a unique and compelling investment proposition in the fast growing West and Central African region. Inter and intra-regional trade in West and Central Africa has been hampered by the poor state of transportation infrastructure. Introducing a direct coastal link between the two regions is expected to have a multiplier effect on the rate of economic growth in these regions, thus providing adequate returns for investors.

The Sealink project is currently endorsed and supported by various regional bodies that identify with the project. It is also a private sector initiative which has gained the full support of various supranational bodies across West and Central Africa including ECOWAS Commission, FEWACCI, and the Maritime Organisation of Central Africa (MOWCA). This is expected to enhance funding and assist the company to navigate the maritime regulatory regime in the region.

To move and sustain the current tempo in the economy of Nigeria, more is expected from Nexim Bank as well as other specialized institutions. More funds should also be appropriated to performing agencies to enable them to perform maximally.

LEONARD OKENE an investment analyst,  wrote from Abuja.