Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar: Participants identified non-oil exports as the panacea for economic revitalization

At the 7th Annual Edition of the Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar with the theme "Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria's Non-Oil Export Business," held on Wednesday, stakeholders unanimously implored approval for Nigeria's non-oil export sector.

Founder and chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, appealed for a coordinated effort to diversify Nigeria's export market through the development of non-oil products. Ovia emphasized the value of non-oil export to the country's economy by pointing out that before oil was discovered, Nigeria exported cocoa and a number of other non-oil goods.

He highlighted the Cocoa House in Ibadan as an example, which was constructed using money made from cocoa exports. He made the argument that many nations, like China and Japan, have prospered due to their extensive use of invention, production, and manufacturing to provide goods and services.He suggested that the country also considers using technology to promote its non-oil export industry in order to create tech giants like Apple, Tesla, and Google. Additionally, there are existing tech firms in this category in Nigeria, such as Flutterwave, which has a $3 billion valuation, making it more valuable than certain local banks.

With market valuations of $3 billion, $2 billion, $1 billion, $500 million, and $200 million, respectively, Flutherwave, OPay, Interswitch, Kuda, and Paystack are just a few of Nigeria's burgeoning financial technology (Fintech) startups that Ovia recognized for their extraordinary growth. He claims that this highlights the vast possibility in the fintech industry. The most well-funded businesses in the world, like Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Tesla, Visa, and others, are not oil corporations but rather belong to the technology innovation sector, he added.

The annual Zenith Bank Trade Seminar, which brings together non-oil export professionals and pertinent government officials, has served as a noteworthy forum to intensify the discussion on trying to promote non-oil export in Nigeria, according to Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Ebenezer Onyeagwu.

“When crude oil prices plummeted from $114.55 per barrel in June 2014 to $28.76 in January 2016, with an attendant effect on the availability of foreign exchange, it was time to look towards the non-oil export sector for a more sustainable source of foreign exchange that is not susceptible to external shocks and price volatility,” Onyeagwu said.

Onyeagwu observed that some of the key findings from the previous six Zenith Bank Annual International Trade Seminar editions have affected policy measures. Examples include the policy requiring merchants not ship exports without a Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) Form Number and extending of the time of return of Non-Oil Export Proceeds from 90 days to 180 days, both of which were recommendations from prior seminars. Past seminars also suggested building export terminals at various export centers throughout the nation and the necessity of providing exporters with incentives to remit their export revenues through authorized channels. Additionally, commercial banks now have Export Desks, which was previously advised in earlier versions.