James Emejo in Abuja

Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr. Abubakar Abba Bello, yesterday, said the bank was ready to provide more affordable financing options to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

Bello said one of the biggest challenges SMEs faced was the high cost of funds, as interest rates from commercial banks peaked at 30 per cent. He said this was “too high for small businesses to sustain”.

Bello spoke at the Abuja edition of the SME Export Finance Sensitisation Forum (EXCEL Programme), jointly organised by NEXIM and GIZ Nigeria under the SEDIN programme.

He said alongside other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), including Bank of Industry (BoI) and Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), NEXIM had worked to reduce the cost of finance and provide refinancing opportunities for MSMEs.

Bello said the aim was to help them become more competitive, sustainable, and capable of scaling their operations, adding that as a development finance institution, “our role is to help them grow to the level where they can attract financing from multiple sources”.

Bello explained, “One of the major issues affecting MSMEs is access to finance. Others include infrastructural deficits, regulatory challenges, and related constraints.

“Of course, we cannot address all these challenges at once. However, one critical factor is the capacity of the business itself—the capacity of the entrepreneur, the management, and the enterprise as a whole.

“That is why sensitisation programmes like this are important. Their goal is to help build the capacity of MSMEs. It’s not that banks are unwilling to lend to MSMEs; rather, banks often observe that many MSMEs lack the necessary capacity to manage credit effectively.”

He said through such sensitisation efforts, the bank aimed to strengthen MSMEs to become eligible to access finance—whether from development finance institutions, commercial banks, or even equity investors.

He added, “Sometimes, businesses want to expand or scale up but lack the structure or platform to attract equity investment. Sensitisation programmes like this help entrepreneurs understand the right processes, documentation, and structures required to make their businesses bankable and investment-ready.

“As I’ve said before, no single organization or agency can do this alone. However, when all stakeholders play their part at various levels, we can collectively strengthen and scale the MSME sector.

“So, beyond sensitisation, what we are really talking about here is capacity building.”

The NEXIM MD said Micro, MSMEs remained the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, with over 41 million operators, accounting for 96.9 per cent of all registered businesses, contributing 48 per cent to GDP, and employing 87.9 per cent of the workforce.

However, he stated that despite the immense contribution, 55 per cent of MSMEs faced challenges in accessing finance, stressing that a significant percentage of the entrepreneurs failed within their first five years—largely due to limited access to finance, infrastructure deficits, high costs of doing business, and regulatory burdens.

He added, “This is precisely why the EXCEL Programme was conceived in partnership with GIZ. Globally, export financing has proven to be a powerful driver of economic growth.

“However, according to the World Bank, exports of goods and services contribute only about 7.64 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP. This figure underscores the huge untapped potential of Nigeria’s MSME export sector, especially considering its size and diversity.

“It also highlights the transformative potential of programmes like EXCEL in unlocking the full value of our MSME ecosystem.

At NEXIM Bank, we are proud to introduce financing solutions such as the SME Export Facility (SMEEF) and the Women & Youth Export Facility (WAYEF), alongside our NEXA digital platform, which provides MSMEs with access to digital export and financial management services.

“These initiatives are designed to make export financing more accessible, transparent, and impactful.

“We are also preparing to commence the onboarding of our SME clients onto the African Trade Gateway (ATG)—a platform aimed at enhancing market access, improving payment systems, and deepening intra-African trade.”

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