ABUBAKAR BELLO URGES INTERNAL AUDITORS TO ADOPT A MORE COLLABORATIVE AND ITERATIVE APPROACH.

▪ ABUBAKAR BELLO TASKS AUDITORS ON THE NEED TO EMBRACE AGILE AUDITING

The need for Internal Auditors to be more proactive in providing assurance over governance, risk and control has once again been brought to the fore. This was contained in a speech delivered recently by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank), Mr. Abubakar A. Bello at the 49th Quarterly General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN).
Speaking at the event which was hosted by NEXIM Bank with the theme: ‘Agile Auditing: The Future of Internal Audit’, Bello said “the adoption of agile principles in the audit practice is a trend sweeping across the internal audit world, yet many auditors are unsure of how to get started as such, find it difficult scaling up. He stated that there is no doubt the fact that there is a growing imperative for organizations to adopt more agile ways of working across functions and programmes to keep up with the huge competitive landscape and ever-increasing pace of change which hitherto poses a challenge to the internal audit function, hence, Auditors must see it as an opportunity to deliver deeper insight into strategic business issues and risks, respond rapidly to changing priorities and emerging issues while becoming forward-looking in anticipating risks.
Bello further hinted that the era where the internal audit function has traditionally been carried out using the ‘Waterfall’ model method and tends to be more structured with defined stages and runs on a linear fashion is gone as such, Auditors should adopt a more collaborative and iterative approach to audit planning, scoping and delivery, noting that there an increasing demand by the stakeholders for a more efficient assurance, better advice on processes and controls, and greater risk anticipation – this need has become even more due to impact of Covid-19 on businesses.
Mr. Abubakar Bello urged the Auditors not to see the word agile as a mere buzzword that connotes ‘fast’, rather, it should encompass what it truly means and applied into improving their audit processes and methodology to enable them to become valued stakeholders.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of ACAEBIN, Mr. Yinka Tiamiyu in his welcome address said that it is in recognition of the need for a more agile internal audit function that the Association continuously organizes training and retraining for her members so as to be in a better position to deal with emerging issues in the industry.

Promoting Inter-Agency collaboration:

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) signs MOU with NEXIM Bank towards promoting the development of service-related companies to effectively compete domestically and Internationally.

The fund Management framework is designed to boost indigenous participation and to promote the growth and development of local content in the Oil and Gas Industry.

The Executive Secretary of NCDMB Engr.Simbi Wabote and the MD/CEO NEXIM Bank,Mr.Abba Bello both signed on behalf of the two institutions at a ceremony earlier today.

#internationaltrade #localcontent #oilandgas #export #services# NEXIM #NCDMB

The unveiling of the Women And Youth Export Facility by the MD/CEO NEXIM Bank, Mr Abba Bello, Executive Director, Business Development, Hon. Stella Okotete, Secretary to the State Government of Kebbi State, Mr. Babale Yauri and other members of the State Executive Council.

Welcome address by the MD/CE, Nexim Bank, Mr. Abba Bello, at the Launch of the Women and Youth Export Facility held in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.

Nexim Bank cordially invites all existing and potential exporters to the launch of the Women and Youth Export Development Facility, (WAYEF), at the Banquet Hall, Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State. Theme: Unlocking Export Market Opportunities for Women and Youth. On Thursday, 10th June, 2021.

#WAYEF #NonOilExports #Globaltrade #MSMes

Welcome Address by Mr. Abubakar Abba Bello, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian Export-Import Bank at the Workshop on Export for SMEs in Kaduna organized by the Nigerian Export-Import Bank on 5th June, 2021.

Protocols.

On behalf of the Board, the entire management and staff of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, I welcome you all to this event, which has been organized by NEXIM Bank on the sidelines of the Kaduna International Trade Fair.

Permit me to specially welcome and thank my Minister, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget & National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed for the continuous support, and for honoring our invitation to this occasion. In the same vein, I must also thank our Chief Host, the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, for providing a conducive environment for us to organize this event. Mr. Governor sir, it is worthy of note that the economy of the state has been transformed significantly under your able leadership, particularly in the areas of infrastructure development and public service reforms. This, no doubt, will provide the needed catalyst for increased private sector investment towards sustainable growth and development of the state.

Let me also thank our partners, the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture as well as the Kaduna Business School, who have worked with us tirelessly to make this gathering possible.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, this workshop has been organized as part of our mandate as Nigeria’s export development Bank to create awareness and stimulate investment in the non-oil export sector in line with the economic diversification objectives of the federal government of Nigeria. It is rather a paradox that in spite of a well-diversified production base, Nigeria continues to manifest the features of a mono-product economy, with crude oil, which currently accounts for less than 10% of our Gross Domestics Product, providing about 70% of government revenues and close to 90% of our export earnings. Our economic fortune, therefore, continues to be tied to the vagaries of the international oil market as is currently being witnessed following the outbreak of the Covid 19 Pandemic.

It is common knowledge that at about this time last year, oil prices went below $20pb at the height of the health crisis and the ensuing economic lockdown plunged the global economy into recession, and of course, Nigeria, being an oil dependent economy was not spared. Although Nigeria is now technically out of recession, following massive stimulus responses by the fiscal and monetary authorities, I wish to emphasise that such undue exposure to oil market shocks can be avoided by effectively harnessing our non-oil potentials and boosting the volume and value of our non-oil exports.

This, of course, will require concerted efforts and partnership between the public and private sectors and it is in this regard that we have organized this enlightenment and engagement session to intimate investors in the region with some of the incentives offered by NEXIM and other agencies of government.
Distinguished participants, I am pleased to note that NEXIM has retooled its operations over the past four years and is now better positioned to serve you. The Bank, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria is implementing the N500bn Non-Oil Export Stimulation Facility and the N100bn Export Development Fund which we offer at single digit interest rate to support the production and export of goods and services. In addition to these, we have recently launched the Women and Youth Export Facility (WAYEF), which comes with special features to assist women and youth in the export value chain to become entrepreneurs and expand their businesses. WAYEF is also part of NEXIM’s affirmative action and has been designed in furtherance of the social and economic inclusion programme of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Having also recognized the role of our SMEs in cross border trade, and the need to mainstream informal export activities, particularly within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), we have also established an SME desk to respond specifically to the needs of our small businesses. My colleagues will tell you more about our various facilities during the plenary session.

Under our trade facilitation role, particularly towards enhancing the competitiveness of Nigerian exporters in the regional market, we have continued to promote the Regional Sealink Project to bridge the maritime infrastructure gap, thereby improving trade connectivity for coastal and hinterland trade. The project is expected to boost access for Nigerian manufactured exports within the regional market, and solid minerals export globally. We are also developing Factoring Services as an alternative financial instrument to support SMEs. In this regard, we have continued to engage with the National Assembly for consideration of the Draft Factoring Bill along with the CBN FSS2020, Afreximbank and the Factor Chain International (FCI), while advocacy is ongoing for issuance of factoring regulation.

As I close ladies and gentlemen, let me seize this opportunity to inform this gathering that NEXIM is partnering with Afreximbank to establish a Project Preparation Fund (PPF), through which both institutions have agreed to raise an initial amount of $50million dollars to support the pre-investment phase in a project preparation circle. It is expected that this fund will address the dearth of bankable projects and increase the flow of funds to SMEs.
Finally, I wish to welcome and thank other government agencies, that have been invited to address other pertinent issues-NEPC, SMEDAN, NAFDAC, SON as well as our dear customers and other stakeholders that have been asked to share their experiences with us.
I thank you all for your kind attention and wish you all fruitful deliberations.

Abba Bello
Managing Director/Chief Executive, NEXIM Bank
5th June, 2021

Courtesy visit by NEXIM Team to the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr Hadiza Balarabe preparatory to the Exporter Enlightenment & Engagement Session hosted by the Bank on Saturday, 5th June, 2021 on the sidelines of the Kaduna International Trade Fair.

Three more days to Nexim Bank Engagement and Enlightenment Forum in Kaduna! The conversation will revolve around the fundamentals of export trade. All existing and potential exporters are invited to this event.

To join this event virtually, Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsdOCurz0sHda1VYy5dwPZ5aTMz5pMPRPm

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Enhancing value addition, boosting trade as Stella Okotete, ED, Buz Devt, NEXIM Bank led the team to visit KAM Industries Ltd. Kwara State, an AfCFTA prospect.

NEXIM Bank @neximbank is co-sponsoring a webinar titled:

AfCFTA: Revamping Nigeria's Infrastructure for Global Trade on Tuesday 25th May 2021.

The event will be highly interactive with selected speakers from exporting conglomerates and SMEs Financiers etc.Businesses operating in the export market/ value chain are hereby encouraged to register and participate.
Zoom Link: http:///NigeriaInfrastructureForGlobalTrade

Another recognition of outstanding performance as MD/CE, NEXIM Bank, Abba Bello, receives the prestigious Business Day award for Excellence in Public service.

Business Day noted- ‘your impeccable achievements include increased funding for export, collaboration to improve transport & logistics support for trade, promoting services export and support for SMEs, amongst others’.

In line with its partnership framework for regional industrialization and economic diversification, @neximbank today signed an MOU with the Kogi State Government towards providing funding support to the Agricultural & Solid Minerals sectors.

The MD/CEO of Nexim Bank, Mr Abba Bello @A2Bell signed on behalf of the Bank, while the State was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folasade Ayoade. NEXIM’s Executive Director, Stella Okotete & other Management Staff were also present at the event.

In this interview with Financial Nigeria Editors, Stella Okotete, Executive Director, Business Development, Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) shares information on the new facility of the bank for women and youth, and how the bank is promoting inclusive economic opportunities in Nigeria.

Financial Nigeria Editors (FNE): The Nigerian Export-Import Bank recently launched the Women and Youth Export Facility (WAYEF). What is the rationale for creating the facility?

Stella Okotete (SO): As you are aware, NEXIM Bank is an Export Credit Agency and the Trade Policy Bank of Nigeria. In this regard, our intervention is guided by the economic and trade policy of the federal government. You would also recall that one of the key pillars of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, under the Economic Recovery & Growth Plan is to achieve social inclusion, such that every citizen has the opportunity to work and live a decent life. Central to this objective is the need to reduce unemployment and create more opportunities for the women. This product is, therefore, one of NEXIM Bank’s initiative towards implementing the strategic pillar of social and economic inclusion.

Let me emphasise that over the years NEXIM Bank has intervened significantly in key non-oil sectors that are high employers of women and youth such as Shea, Cashew, Hibiscus, Ginger, etc, where women & youth are involved in cleaning and packaging of products for export. We have, however, observed that by providing access to finance and other capacity building initiatives, these groups of people can own their own businesses and contribute more directly to the job creation efforts and economic diversification objectives of the federal government of Nigeria.

WAYEF is also part of our own affirmative action and NEXIM Bank’s contribution towards achieving goal 5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

FNE: What are the key attributes of the facility?

SO: The product has been designed to improve access to finance for women and youth. To achieve this, we have established a dedicated desk, whose target is to increase the number of women/youth-owned businesses in our portfolio. This desk is also responsible for identifying and promoting necessary collaborations and synergy with other MDAs and indeed other organisations that could provide support for women and youth entrepreneurs, either in terms of capacity building or enhancing market access.

It may interest you to know that besides Nigerian institutions like the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Develop-ment Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), international organisations and develop-ment partners like the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have programmes to support women and youth entrepreneurs.

Now speaking more specifically about the attributes, the product offers more favourable pricing to the target beneficiaries, with lower application fee and single digit interest rate. The collateral require-ment is also more flexible and includes moveable assets that are registered in the collateral registry. You see, our women in particular, have a lot of investments in personal assets, such as jewelry, which are lying idle. Such assets could be leveraged to unlock capital for further empowerment and wealth creation.

FNE: How does the WAYEF complement the existing portfolio of financing products and services of NEXIM Bank?

SO: As an institution, our products and services are targeted at the critical sectors that are key drivers of export growth such as Manufacturing, Agriculture, Solid Minerals and Services, our MASS Programme. WAYEF will still focus on these sectors, but with the condition that the projects are those promoted by women and youth. As I mentioned earlier, majority of the labour force engaged in processing and packaging of agricultural commodities are women and youth, but we now want them to own their businesses.

Let me observe that many players in this target group are already engaged in cross border trade, but they do this more informally. WAYEF is also targeted at bringing more of these traders into the formal sector, so that they can benefit from government’s incentives and grow their businesses, particularly within the context of the opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which commenced in January, 2021.

As part of measures to increase access to funds under this scheme, particularly for SME exporters, we have also launched a Project Preparation Fund in collaboration with Afeximbank. Under the Afreximbank-NEXIM Bank partnership, we seek to raise up to $50 million towards engaging consultants for the preparation of feasibility reports and meeting other requirements needed to present bankable proposals. We expect that many of our women and youth will seize the opportunity and benefit from the various initiatives.

FNE: The COVID-19 pandemic has been known to have more economic impact on women. What are the necessary institu-tional measures that can ensure the pandemic does not leave a lasting negative gender impact on Nigerian women?

SO: Yes, the pandemic has had more economic impact on women than men. In a report published in July, 2020, by Mckinsey and Company, a global research firm, it was observed that women’s jobs were 1.8 times more vulnerable to the crisis than men’s jobs. One reason for this is that the pandemic increased the burden of unpaid care, which is carried more by women.

In Nigeria and indeed most African countries, women are more engaged in informal, sometimes daily paid activities, which require physical contact and were therefore more affected by social distancing and restriction of movement. In some instances, some of the businesses operate from home and were therefore more prone to distractions during the lockdowns, partly because of the need to spend more time to cater for family members.

The foregoing further underscores the need for a dedicated funding programme to support women businesses, which is what WAYEF does. As I earlier mentioned, one of the key objectives of WAYEF is to encourage women to operate formal business, with proper corporate structures and the ability to leverage technology like large businesses. For example, women owned businesses should be able to sell their goods and services on the internet and use dispatch services to deliver products. As you are aware, businesses are now talking about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will increasingly rely on the use of smart technology to gain competitive advantage. WAYEF seeks to position our women to integrate into the global economy.

FNE: NEXIM Bank has been intervening in the manufacturing, agro-processing, solid minerals, and services sectors. These are sectors that can create jobs for the youth. How does the bank define “youth” for the purpose of accessing this new fund?

SO: Our definition of youth aligns with that of the federal government under the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan, which was developed by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD). The plan defines youth as young people between the ages of 18 and 35 years. As you may be aware, the Federal Executive Council, on July 2020, approved the establishment of the N75 billion Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (N-YIF) operated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This fund seeks to provide the needed funding support to assist youth-owned businesses towards bridging the employment gap and to develop the managerial skills of Nigerian youth.

NEXIM Bank’s focus on the youth is in line with the government’s objectives under the N-YIF. As you would have observed, recent report from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics indicates that unemployment rate has reached 33.3% and youth unemployment at 42.5%. Therefore, for us in NEXIM Bank, having observed that youth operate a lot of businesses in the value chains across the MASS sectors, we thought it necessary to give more focus to this population segment as part of our contributions to addressing youth unemployment, towards curbing youth restiveness and other security challenges.

FNE: Are there additional impacts the fund is planned to have?

SO: Yes, WAYEF is a financial inclusion strategy. You see, the United Nations’ population projection for Nigeria in 2020 indicates that about 62% of Nigerians are below 25 years, while over 50% belong to the female gender. These segments of the population can therefore not be ignored, hence the need for deliberate and targeted policy measures to address their needs.

Through WAYEF, we seek to have more women- and youth-owned businesses in our portfolio – as already mentioned – as part of measures to increase employment generation and foreign exchange earnings. This will also promote sustainable economic development in line with the objectives of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

NEXIM wishes all Muslims a blessed Eid celebration.

1. The @neximbank has continued to support the Federal Government's drive for the establishment of a well developed mining industry that thrives and supports the evacuation/production of minerals for sale and exports.

2. To achieve this, the Bank has supported an indigenous company, Dutse Granite located at sharada Industrial Area kano State for the production of tiles and slabs for export.

The federal government commends the Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank’s enhancement of its Intra-African Trade Initiatives in readiness for commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA).

This was stated by the Honourable Minister of Finance,Budget and National Planning Mrs Zainab S Ahmed today at the formal inauguration of the newly appointed non-executive directors of the bank, Mallam Kabiru Hassan, and Mr. Ede O. Dafinone, in Abuja.