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•Bello: $50m will help transform Nigerian exporters from traders to processors

Sunday Okobi in Algiers

Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a Shariah-based multilateral insurer and member of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, is collaborating with Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank to establish a strategic framework aimed at deepening cooperation between ICIEC and NEXIM Bank on key areas that will strengthen the export credit and investment insurance landscape in the country and help enhance exporters’ values in the system.

The collaboration seeks to promote financial and trade relations while driving economic growth across ICIEC’s member states and beyond.

The two entities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation yesterday during the IsDB Group Annual Meetings 2025 held in Algiers, Algeria.

The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from both organisations, including ICIEC chief executive officer, Dr. Khalid Khalafalla, and Managing Director and CEO at NEXIM Bank, Mr. Abba Bello.

It was disclosed at the ceremony that the partnership would foster the exchange of expertise in export credit and investment insurance, joint marketing, and the development of tailored products for the export and investment markets.

According to Khalafalla, “Capacity-building initiatives will ensure NEXIM is equipped to sustain long-term benefits. This strategic positioning will enable NEXIM to leverage its capacity effectively, supported by ICIEC, to achieve its ambitious goals.

“Additionally, NEXIM has joined the AMAN Union, further enhancing its outreach within the export credit insurers of the OIC member states.”

Khalafalla further expressed his enthusiasm for the new partnership, stating, “This MoU represents a significant milestone in our commitment to supporting the export and investment sectors across our member states.

“By collaborating with NEXIM Bank, we are reinforcing the foundation for increased trade and investment flows, while providing enhanced risk mitigation tools for Nigerian exporters.”

Bello said the partnership aligned with ICIEC’s broader efforts to facilitate trade and investment across its member states and contribute to the realisation of sustainable development goals through innovative insurance and reinsurance solutions.

He added, “The cooperation between ICIEC and NEXIM will play a pivotal role in fostering economic stability and enhancing competitiveness for both entities and their respective stakeholders.”

On what the MoU meant for the bank and the Nigerian economy, Bello exclusively told ������Ƶ that the MoU was, primarily, for joint risk-sharing of transactions that were qualified, “and secondly, we keep building the capacity, which they have with the Nigerian export finance business, as an additional product for which our exporters can leverage on.”

On the importance of the credit insurance or credit guarantee to the Nigerian financial system, the NEXIM Bank boss said, “It will help us to boost the ability in terms of business capacity for exporters without real money. So, it’s a credit. We do that instead of lending money. Instead of extending cash to exporters, credit insurance or guarantee replaces cash-maybe on a deferred payment basis. So, this technically increases capacity without our balance sheet increasing.”

Bello added, “Also, the second aspect is a straight credit line with ICD with is the private sector arm of IsDB, and it is for a $50 million line, which will be used specifically to help aid industrialisation in the country.

“Most of Nigeria exports hitherto have been unprocessed commodities either in the agriculture sector or in the solid mineral sector. So the objective of NEXIM is to try to continue to migrate our exporters from being traders to processors of those goods because of the value attached to it which will definitely increase.”

He stated that the $50 million line will “help us in that aspect (migrating our exporters from being traders to processors of those goods because of the value attached to it), and we have to keep getting funds to help our exporters and the Nigerian economy in general in diversifying from oil-based economy or as the only source of foreign exchange. And we are also interested in ensuring that value is created for the same product.”

Khalafalla further disclosed that ICIEC commenced operations in 1994 with a mission to strengthen economic relations between OIC member states and promote intra-OIC trade and investment through credit and investment insurance.

He stated, “The corporation is the world’s only Islamic multilateral insurer and has been at the forefront of delivering a comprehensive suite of risk mitigation tools to support cross-border trade and investments for its 50 member states.

“For the 17th consecutive year, ICIEC maintained an ‘Aa3’ insurance financial strength credit rating (IFSR) from Moody’s, positioning the Corporation among the leaders in the Credit and Political Risk Insurance (CPRI) industry.”

In addition, Khalafalla said ICIEC was assigned a first-time AA-‘long-term Issuer Credit Rating with a Stable Outlook by S&P.

“ICIEC’s resilience is anchored in its prudent underwriting practices, robust reinsurance arrangements, and sound risk management framework,” he said.