Inter-state trading among African countries has remained a thing of concern for the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK) with a mandate to drive intra-African trade across the continent.
Head, of Admin for Anglophone West African Region, AFREXIMBANK, Engr. Oluwaseun Alabi said this to Nigerian Tribune at the presentation of International Standardization Certification (ISO) 4010 to Total Facility Management Limited (TFML).
According to him, the Bank has noted the poor statistical representation of intra-African trade among countries which is far less than the trade between African countries and European and countries of other continents.
This he noted was not good for the empowerment of the continent’s own citizens and tasked women to bridge the gap with various business initiatives that the bank would support.
Alabi said “Statistics have shown that trade between African countries is less than 20% compared to the likes of trade with Europe, Asia and America and others. You have 60 per cent and some of them are well above 50 per cent.”
He said the entrant of the TFML to the international market through the seal of competence and integrity by the conferment of the ISO, the corporation like any other led by a woman should access the laudable initiative by the bank to explore the African market.
He said it was high time Nigerian women explore the multiple initiatives of the bank, that could elevate the small and medium enterprise to global reckoning, especially with the seamless organisational profile and payment platform system coupled with the opportunities the African Continental Free Trade Association (AfCTFA) has birthed.
Alabi said women have not participated optimally in the continental trade and challenged them to take advantage of the low trade activities between countries in the continent especially as the bank was ready to support them.
“Our mandate is to ensure that African countries can trade conveniently, for example, I can seat in Nigeria and know what is available in Ghana and can trade between Nigeria and Ghana and we can seamlessly facilitate that transaction.
“The Bank has some of the initiatives that are set up to ensure this happens. One of such initiative is what we call the MANSA platform where investors and companies put in their profiles, and somebody in Cote d’Ivoire can go to that platform and search out who is in Nigeria that can offer that service.
“We also have the Pan African payments system (PAPS) to be able to pay in Naira and your partner or vendor in Ghana get the fund in cedis, you do not have to be looking for a dollar about.
“Afrexim Bank is in support of the African Continental Free Trade Association (AfCFTA).”
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Total Facility Management, Nwandu Chukwura, said the business would explore all opportunities to advance her role in her services and emphasized that Nigerian businesses that eye the global market must know that “you cannot play in the international front, if you do not have what it takes to play globally because competence, in service delivery, is what people and organization crave at the global scene.
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