by Nurat Uthman
The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Afreximbank to establish a $3 billion Nigeria Industrialisation Financing Facility for an industrial park and light manufacturing.
The deal is expected to lead to the creation of special economic, industrial and agro-processing zones across the country and create 20,000 jobs.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Udoka-Anite, signed on behalf of the country on the sidelines of the ongoing Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM) 2024 in Nassau, The Bahamas.
Specifically, the intervention is to support the development of an automotive sector as well as the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) value chain to better enable the automotive and transport sector in the country.
The package will also cover the technical and financing support for the diaspora investment fund framework.
Furthermore, the agreement also signified the partnership between the ministry, Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP) and Afreximbank to revamp the cotton, apparel and textile value chain in Nigeria.
ARISE IIP, owned by Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Equitane (formerly ATIF), designs, finances, builds and operates integrated and tailor-made industrial zones with high added value.
The financing support would further create 20,000 jobs for the country and attract investment estimated at over $2 billion at the moment.
“This is going to cut across the cotton belt in Nigeria and also create a lot of jobs in Nigeria’s core strength in terms of cotton and textile production which used to be the pride of the country in the 1980s and 1990s. So, we are bringing it back and working together to get that done,” Afreximbank announced.
The partnership also reinforces the commitment of the present administration to drive economic diversification.
