StanChart, IEOM, launch credit window for oil region SME exporters

STANDARD CHAR TERED BANK SCB, A LEADING EMERGING MAR KETS BANK, in partnership with the Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM), has launched a credit window for small and medium-scale enterprises in the oil region of Niger Delta, which are involved in export business, especially in the non-oil sector.

Each participating SME gets a credit of up to N20 million non-collateral loan from the bank. The essence is to press up Nigeria’s largely unharnessed non-oil export sector. And several areas of the sector abound in the oil region.

According to Ofon Udofia, executive secretary and chief executive officer of IEOM, some export areas include, service export (offering information on location of and potential of buyers), cashew nuts export, palm kernel shells, oil palm, among several others.

Standard Chartered Bank and IEOM signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Lagos where representatives of both organisations harped on the need to boost especially non-oil exports in Nigeria, at a time the country is suffering from southward movement in the fortunes of its main commodtomi ity revenue – crude oil.

“It is impossible to overemphasize the need for export promotion, and we can’t do it in isolation. There is the need to collaborate, especially with willing financial institutions to drive exports in Nigeria for economic growth,” Udofia said.

He noted that export by SMEs is the way to go for Nigeria, in view of the opportunities inherent in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which became operational in January 2021. The AfCFTA allows trade to flow more freely between signatory African countries, progressively eliminating tariffs on up to 90 percent of goods of African origin.

As a result, the SCB’s collaborative initiative is aimed at supporting Nigerian SMEs to take advantage of the AfCFTA to export more. Through the initiative, both organisations seek to strengthen the capacity of exporters, and democratize export education, Udofia said.

Within this context, IEOM members and customers of the bank can benefit from various capacity building initiatives of both organisations, and will take advantage of other innovative financial products and initiatives aimed at supporting exporters through the export process.

David Idoru, head, retail and business banking at SCB, noted that, “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is very keen on the export promotion scheme. We at SCB promote non-oil export, which is part of the mandate of the CBN.”

According to him, the objective of the collaboration is to “bring our network strength, our capabilities together to really make an impact in this sector.”

Standard Chartered Bank also used the occasion to highlight its new product which allows existing businesses (SMEs) to access unsecured (collateral-free) business loans of up to N20 million.

Existing exporters looking to take advantage of the facility may approach the IEOM, which is an independent trade and investment support institution set up to support Nigerian exporters with critical knowledge support to take their products and services to global markets. Founded in 2014, the export group has been providing training, advisory, consulting and market intelligence services with a focus on helping exporters avoid pitfalls in export business.