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Zenith Bank Plc hosted the 10th edition of its International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export on Tuesday, marking a decade of sustained advocacy for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy. The virtual event brought together policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors and development partners from across Africa and beyond, all focused on one question: how Nigeria can earn more from what it sells to the world.
Held under the theme ‘Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth’, the seminar examined how Nigeria can move beyond exporting raw commodities to building competitive value chains, strengthening trade infrastructure and financing, and deepening the sector’s contribution to sustainable economic growth.
In her welcome address, the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, paid tribute to the bank’s Founder, Dr. Jim Ovia, whose vision gave birth to the seminar in 2015, and urged participants to turn Nigeria’s improving export numbers into lasting economic value.
In her words: “Our theme, ‘Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth’, is not just a slogan. It speaks to the opportunities before us and the need to translate our collective efforts into sustainable economic value. According to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached a record $6.1 billion in 2025, up 11.5 percent from the $5.46 billion recorded in 2024, and a remarkable leap from the $612 million recorded a decade earlier. Through our partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, we have commenced the development of the SMARTAfCFTA portal, and our integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System is making cross-border business easier for our customers. Wherever our exporters need to reach, Zenith Bank will reach with them.”
She commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the structural reforms creating a more enabling environment for businesses, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, for reforms that have improved foreign exchange stability and market confidence.
“As we build on the progress recorded so far,” she added, “it is important that, as a nation, we accelerate growth by creating more value locally and exporting finished products, rather than just raw materials.”
Delivering the keynote address, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, called for deeper trade and investment reforms, a better export environment and wider market access within Africa and beyond.
“The question before us now is not simply how to export more, but how to retain more value in Nigeria from everything we export,” she said.
“Our focus at the ministry is straightforward: produce more competitively in Nigeria, process more in Nigeria, connect Nigerian businesses to bigger markets, and ensure that the financing, infrastructure and trade systems exist to help them scale. In July, I assumed the chair of the Af- CFTA Council of Ministers, and I see first hand that the opportunity before us goes beyond the size of the African market of over 1.4 billion people and approximately $3.4 trillion in GDP.
It is about enabling Nigerian firms to sell more products, reach more markets and deepen regional value chains. Nigeria’s role as an AfCFTA digital trade co-champion further positions us to help shape how this market evolves, particularly as digital trade creates new pathways for Nigerian businesses to reach customers across the continent.”
She urged financial institutions to go beyond financing export transactions to financing export capability, and encouraged Nigerian businesses to prepare for intra-African trade by investing in productivity, quality and skills. In his presentation, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) and immediate past President/ Chairman of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, argued that the moment demands new thinking. “The theme chosen for this 10th edition is both apt and timely,” he said.
“The global economy is experiencing unprecedented levels of entropy. I do not raise this to alarm us. I raise it because a unique opportunity lies ahead of us that may well pave the way to Africa’s ascendance. The question is no longer whether Africa can attract enough external capital and external demand to power its growth. The question is whether Africa, and Nigeria within it, can build her own internal demand, participate effectively in global supply chains, build the capacity to finance her own trade and industries, and create her own markets.”
He commended Zenith Bank and its leadership for advancing Nigeria’s non-oil export agenda over the past decade. The Founder and Executive Chair of Plot Enterprise Ghana Limited, Mrs Patricia Poku-Diaby, made the case for transformation plainly.
“Let us make no mistake: the future of our economy will not be determined simply by what we grow or what we mine, but by what we transform,” she said.
“We need to move from being suppliers of raw materials to becoming producers, processors, manufacturers, exporters and owners of strong African brands. Our focus should be on creating more value before our products leave our shores.”
Speaking on the Nigeria- United Kingdom trade relationship, the UK Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt. Hon. Florence Eshalomi, represented by Ms Mujina Kaindama, Head of Trade Policy for UK Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, commended the bank for the platform.
“The trade relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria is one of immense importance and even greater potential,” she said.
“Nigeria is home to extraordinary entrepreneurial talent, innovation and creativity. One of the most promising opportunities lies not simply in increasing exports, but in increasing the value of those exports: moving further up the value chain, processing raw materials, developing branded products and creating higher- value manufactured and agricultural goods. In doing so, Nigerian businesses can unlock greater returns, create jobs and build sustainable economic growth.”
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, placed the private sector at the centre of the continent’s economic restructuring.
“The private sector is at the heart of the fundamental restructuring of Africa’s economy that all of us want to see,” he said, “and the seminar Zenith Bank has convened strikes at the heart of that objective: reducing the reliance of exports on unprocessed commodities and accelerating industrialisation and value addition in Africa.
The success of the AfCFTA will ultimately be measured not by how many protocols and legal instruments have been signed, but by the extent to which our private sector can leverage the AfCFTA to access new markets, scale their investment and scale their productive capacity to create jobs across the continent.”
The seminar featured two panel sessions. The public sector panel brought together Mr. Abubakar Bello, Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), represented by Mr Hope Nyongo, Technical Adviser; Mr Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller- General of the Nigeria Customs Service; Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director/ CEO of the Nigerian Ports Authority, represented by Mr Adebowale Lawal, Ports Manager, Lagos Ports Complex; Ms Aderinola Shonekan, Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria; Mrs Nonye Ayeni, Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council; and Mr Adekunle Ajai, General Manager, Neroli Technologies.
The panellists committed to improving trade facilitation, customs efficiency, logistics reform, trade advocacy and exporters’ access to funding.
The private sector panel featured Alhaji Adeniji Adeyemi, MD/CEO of Starlink Global & Ideal Limited; Alhaji Sada Ladan-Baki, Group Executive Director, International Trade and Export, Dangote Group; Mr Bamidele Ayemibo, Senior Consultant, 3T Impex Trade Centre; Mr Mobolaji Salako, Managing Director, Terra Aqua Environmental Consultancy Nigeria Limited; Mr Ramzi Taher, Managing Director, RMM Global Company Limited; Mrs Oluyemisi Iranloye, Founder/Managing Director, Psaltry International; and Chief (Mrs) Chinwe Ezenwa, MD/CEO, Lelook Nigeria Limited.
Their discussions centred on trade barriers, value creation and addition, competitiveness, product certification, market intelligence and the structured financing needed to scale non-oil exports.
The Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar on Non- Oil Export was launched in 2015 to drive dialogue and action around Nigeria’s non-oil export potential. Ten years on, the bank continues to champion the sector’s growth by opening up market opportunities and backing exporters with financing, incentives and practical support.
The 2026 edition streamed live on Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok, drawing thousands of participants from 97 countries. The tenth edition closed the way the first began a decade ago: with a commitment to give Nigerian businesses the tools, partnerships and capital they need to compete in regional and global markets.
