Fidelity, Afrexim Banks sign $40mn cocoa export deal
Fidelity Bank, a Nigerian deposit money bank, has signed a tripartite $40 million pre-export finance facility with AFREXIM Bank in favour of JohnVents Industries.
The loan deal was signed at the second edition of the Fidelity International Trade and Creative Connect (FITCC) holding in Houston, Texas, United States of America.
The FITCC, co-hosted by Fidelity Bank, brought together a broad range of businesses, regulators, members of the diplomatic corps and other guests.
The loan, a pre-export finance deal for JohnVents, would be provided by AFREXIM Bank with Fidelity Bank acting as the local administrative agent.
In a chat with journalists, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe the managing director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank, said the loan signing demonstrates the size of the opportunity in the Nigerian cocoa market.
She said: “We are delighted to participate in the tripartite loan signing ceremony as it demonstrates the size of the opportunity in the Nigerian cocoa market and its potential to meet the demand of off-takers in the US.
“The ceremony also highlights the value of our partnership with AFREXIM Bank especially in providing much-needed credit to last mile beneficiaries to upscale their operations and cater to a global market. These align with our objectives for FITCC and we are thrilled to host the formal deal signing event here”, Onyeali-Ikpe said.
Tagged FITCC Houston, the two-days event was aimed at achieving several objectives including increasing the pipeline of Nigerian businesses that export into the US market, providing the diaspora market more ethnic product options and enabling exporters to build capacity to improve product quality and meet international standards.
In her welcome address at the event, Onyeali-Ikpe said: “Developments on the global scene have necessitated the need to constantly seek viable alternatives as businesses work to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving macro-economic environment.
“On the supply side, businesses are waking up to the imperative of catering to an international customer base in order to hedge against currency devaluation risks, increase the reach of their products and to ultimately ensure the long-term sustainability of their ventures.
“Indeed, globalization has emphasized the need for businesses to improve in terms of cross border offerings and collaborations”.
Credit: BusinessDay
