2022 International Trade Seminar - Godwin Emefiele CFR

I see this opportunity to say that we must also begin to think about ourselves first. We have seen major economies taking decisions that are in their own interest and non-cognitive of the spillovers and effects on other countries. We have seen export bans of critical supplies from many countries, and we have seen even central banks making rate hike decisions without recourse to its effect on the global economy. What all of this tells us is that we have to look inward as well and indeed have to get our acts together. As the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, I have long recognized that Nigeria cannot rely on other countries to get us on the track of sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity. And so over the years and under my leadership at the central bank, we have heralded various initiatives and interventions that incentivized the non-oil export sector because of our firm belief that the non-oil sector holds immense potential to contribute to employment generation, wealth creation, and economic growth of our country. The initiatives and interventions of the CBN seek to bridge the gaps in the non-oil export sector by providing funding for working capital and capital expenditure that may be deployed to value chain expansion and or trade related infrastructure. We are going to embark on an aggressive deepening of the Nigerian economy, diversify the base of the economy from import to an economy that is built on import substitution and export orientation. Let's begin to think about those products that can be produced in Nigeria. Businesses can see the benefits in producing what we eat and eat what we produce, and after meeting local consumption, you can begin to export. This is how our country can see prosperity from creating employment and we reduce youth restiveness in our land. So I want to use this opportunity to encourage you. We have provided this 65 naira per dollar rebate to encourage you. And this is an opportunity, and I find this export seminar as an opportunity for me to plead with everybody. Time is running against us. This is an opportunity for us as a country to reset again. Reset and very quickly start to reset. That is what this country needs because Nigeria has the potential. The initiatives and interventions of the CBN seek to bridge the gaps in the non-oil export sector by providing funding for working capital and capital expenditure that may be deployed to value chain expansion and or trade related infrastructure. Let me take us through some of these initiatives. One: 500 billion naira non-oil export stimulation facility. The non-oil export stimulation facility was introduced by the CBN in October 2017 to diversify the revenue base of our economy and expedite the growth and development of non-oil sector in Nigeria. Two: 300 billion naira real sector facility using the differentiated cash reserve requirement (DCRR). This facility was launched in January 2016 as part of CBN's efforts to stimulate output growth, enhance value addition, and engender productivity in our country. Three: the commercial agricultural credit scheme (CACS). The primary purpose of this initiative was to provide concessionary funding to the agricultural sector, targeting agricultural commodities production, processing, storage, farm input supplies, and marketing. Four: the anchor borrowers program. This program is designed to create economic linkages between smallholder farmers and reputable companies involved in the production and processing of key agricultural commodities. This strategy is to increase banks' financing to improve agricultural productivity by creating an ecosystem that drives value chain financing. Five: the creative industry financing initiative. This was an initiative that was launched in 2019 by the CBN in collaboration with the bankers committee as part of efforts to boost job creation in Nigeria, particularly among the youths. It is designed to provide long-term and low interest funding to players in the creative industry sectors. Areas of interest include information technology, fashion, movie production, distribution, and music. Six: 200 billion naira MSME facility. This is an intervention credit launched in 2010 by the CBN and the Bank of Industry for the purpose of refinancing and restructuring existing loans to smaller and medium enterprises and manufacturing companies. Seven: the micro, small and medium enterprise development fund. The CBN launched this fund to support the channeling of low interest funds to the micro, small and medium enterprise sub sectors. I thank you all for your attention.