Fidelity Bank Plc has gone into a partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Lagos Business School (LBS) to establish the Export Leadership Institute as part of its efforts to promote activities in the non-oil sector and also empower exporters in the country.
The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the initiative would also help support the federal government’s drive towards diversifying the economy.
He stated that the goal of the Export Management Programme is to deliver impactful and world-class export management education to equip Nigerian MSMEs with the knowledge and business know-how required to compete effectively in international markets.
“Nigeria’s economy is facing severe headwinds on account of the falling crude oil prices and the direct consequence of increasing value erosion of the naira. This is further heightened by the current international trade paradigm which is mostly import driven.
“Foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria are largely from oil exports which account for over 90 per cent of total export receipts. The current currency debacle hinges on supply side dynamics as we have lost over 70 per cent of our dollar revenues in the last 18 months due to the falling crude oil prices. Hence, it is quite obvious that the key to growing the value of the naira is the diversification of Nigeria’s dollar revenue base via non-oil exports.
As further proof of our strong commitment to the growth of the Nigerian economy, we are collaborating with the NEPC and LBS to establish the Export Leadership Institute, the platform under which the Export Management Programme, a flagship export capacity development programme, will run,” he added.
He hinted that the bank would also support MSMEs that goes through the programme with appropriate financing solutions to enable them meet their export financing needs.