By Ayomide Otitoju
President of Afreximbank , Professor Benedict Oramah has called on manufacturing concerns on the continent to scale up their production in order to boost exports outside the continent.
He disclosed this while delivering a paper entitled : ” Key financing by the Afreximbank in support of Intra-Africa Trade and Investment : If people have a combined GDP of 3.5 trillion US dollars” , at the ongoing Lagos Trade Fair.
Represented by the Regional Operating Officer Anglophone at the bank, Mr Eric Monchu, he said a manufacturer in Lagos will have to produce not just for the over 280 million Nigerians , but for the over 1.3 billion people on the African continent.
He said the implementation of the Africa Free Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA ), can only be successful on the building blocks of events, like the Lagos International Trade Fair, which brings together African entrepreneurs from various African countries to showcase what each country can produce.
He said it is not only what they can produce, but how countries can complement each other to promote value added export and share of Africa’s trade in the world, which unfortunately stands at a paltry three percent compared to global trade.
Oramah said there is a need to up the ante to promote intra-Africa trade, which today stands at about 80 percent .
He went on : ” According to the AfC FTA Secretariat, when compared to over 60 percent for European trade and over 70 percent for integration trade.
“The negotiations for the implementation of the AfCFTA have been split into two phases. One which comprises the trade in goods, trade in services, rules and procedures on their settlement of disputes.
“These are being finalized for tariff lines to be liberalised over five years. For the 21 non Least Developed African countries and over 10 years for the territory least developed African countries are said to constitute negotiations and these negotiations are ongoing, and we cover investment, competition and intellectual property. From the foregoing, you will agree with me that the drive for each African trade and Africa’s economic emancipation require more than just a political way.
“We have to be deliberate and intentional. Our intentions must be translated into concrete action, which is exactly why the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry has sustained the organisation of the Lagos International Trade Fair over the years.’
He highlighted some of the set facilitation initiatives being pursued by Afreximbank under the leadership of Professor Benedict, Oramah, dabbed the Africa trade gateway number one, the Monzo KYC platform is an African wide know your customer and customer due diligence platform which allows African entities corporates, financial institutions, SMEs, state owned entities and parastatals to provide their KYC CDD information on a single platform based on best international standards to change the negative perception on African entities.
He went on : ” There is reduce KYC CDC CDD AML costs , which attracts investment to the continent. Each entity is assigned a unique master ID which will enable that entity to make payments on the paps platform to the pan Africa Payment and Settlement system, paps which enable intermittent trade payments to be made in 42 African currencies.
“For example, an importer in Nigeria, we pay in Naira for goods from Kenya and the exporter in Kenya will receive Kenyan shillings while afreximbank and the central banks of Kenya Nigeria will provide clearing and settlement. It is estimated that successful implementation of paps will save Africa $5 billion annually as payment for each country.
“It will be done in local currency. Paps was piloted in the West Africa monetary zone, which comprises Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Gambia and Guinea and today paps has eight central banks and about 50 commercial banks connected to each go live is expected in quarter one of 2023.
“The Trade Information Portal will provide all trade information for countries on a single platform and trade regulation information portal we make available all three regulations for all African countries which have been developed for implementation in 2023.
“With the Ukraine war, most African countries are struggling to access fertilisers today. Meanwhile, Nigeria is exporting large quantities of the same product under long term contracts to Brazil, USA, Mexico and elsewhere at lower prices than what Africans pay when imported from outside the continent. Botswana exports a large quantity of qualified grass fed to Europe.
Meanwhile, Egypt buys the same product from Australia and Brazil at much higher cost than Botswana sales the product for.
“Ethiopia buys certain kinds of leather for shoe making from New Zealand at twice the cost that Burundi in the same East Africa sells to the world.
Number four the afreximbank Collaborative charging guarantee scheme will enable the issuance of a single transit guarantee especially for the 16 landlocked African countries to enable goods to be moved from Lagos to Accra or Cape Town to Cairo.
“This is being piloted in a commercial region for eventual rollout across the entire continent. The AfCFTA adjustment facility put in place by afreximbank will enable member countries to generate new revenues that will replace the lost revenues emanating from border removal.
Afreximbank has made available USD $1 billion and will attract another 6 billion from other partners to complete the $2 billion guarantee issue in favour of Johnson and Johnson by afreximbank which enables the importation of 400 million doses of single shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine for African countries.
“Through the Africa medical platform, order the other Africa vaccine acquisition trust initiative of the day your African citizen affects them. This concept is being used today to facilitate Africa trade exchange for the skilled procurement or fertilisers for African countries at affordable prices.”
He listed Seven HR Patel trade fair organised by Afreximbank in partnership with the African Union Commission, and the afcfta Secretariat. The maiden edition, was organised in Cairo, Egypt in December 2018, which 45 countries participated and a second edition took place in November 2021 in Durban, Kwazulu natal South Africa with over 46 African countries participating, well more than 1501 exhibitors 22,000 attendees and 42 point 1 billion Indians concluded
He said : ” The IETF 2023 will take place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire between 21 to 27 November 2023. Under the theme connecting African markets, it is expected to attract more than 1600 exhibitors, more than 25,000 visitors and conference delegates and more than 24 billion in trade and investment is expected to be closed.
” Since its inception in 1993, the African Export Import Bank has approved over $25 billion dollars in support of Nigerian public and private sector entities. Other activities under be pursued by appraisal include the five contract bid Africa Medical Centre of Excellence under construction in Abuja. And this Medical Centre of Excellence is expected to turn Nigeria into a medical tourism hub as well as the Africa quality assurance centre, a partnership with Bureau Veritas which is expected to be launched, the construction is finished and ready to be launched in December 2022.
” In Sagamu interchange in Ogun State, Nigeria, this Africa quality assurance centre will allow the testing and certification of agro-processed products to enable them to be exported to other African countries and outside the continent.
“Afreximbank is the accredited technical partner of the AfCFTA Secretariat, with staff on secondment at the afcfta Secretariat and
The Board of Directors of the Afreximbank, has approved a grant of $6 million for the implementation of the AFC FTA.
“These are the baby steps that will take Africa into a party stance of economic development that will change Africa through the African continental Free Trade Area agreement.”
