Zenith Bank unveils SMARTAfCFTA, a vision for digitizing African trade in partnership with AfCFTA.
Nigeria’s Zenith Bank has inked a milestone Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), heralding a new era of collaborative innovation. This groundbreaking agreement, fostered under the aegis of the eighth edition of Zenith Bank’s International Trade Seminar in Lagos also unveiled a pioneering platform poised to revolutionize the continent’s trade landscape – the SMARTAfCFTA.
Speaking at the event, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, group chief executive officer/ managing director at Zenith Bank, said the collaboration aims to unlock the vast opportunities presented by AfCFTA not only for Nigeria’s economic prosperity but also for advancing trade across African countries.
SMARTAfCFTA
The SMARTAfCFTA portal is set to transform the intricate contours of African trade. The state-of-the-art platform will showcase myriad African products and services, extending an invitation to the global arena. This innovative foray aligns synergistically with AfCFTA’s vision for digitization, resonating with the very ethos that underpins the continental initiative.
“With the MoU, Zenith will be developing the smart AfCFTA portal which is going to serve as a straight porter that will showcase African products and services and where they can be found,” Onyeagwu said.
The annual event themed ‘Nigerian Non-Oil Export Industry -The Present, The Future’ explored ways to unlock opportunities in Nigeria’s non-oil export by gaining valuable insights into the sector’s present state and the future prospects.
Commending the Bank, Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of AfCFTA, said the partnership demonstrates its commitment to digitisation of trade in Africa, “What many of you may not be aware of and the MD may be too modest to say is that Zenith Bank was the first bank to come to me to say we want to partner with you. The chairman said the one million dollars was to demonstrate the commitment as a bank to digitisation in Africa. “So, the portal wasn’t my idea; it wasn’t our idea at the AfCFTA Secretariat. It was Zenith Bank that stepped up and said this has to be done,” he said.
Navigating challenges and charting growth in non-oil exports
As the symposium delved into the theme of ‘Nigerian Non-Oil Export Industry – The Present, The Future,’ a spotlight was cast upon the potential that lies within Nigeria’s non-oil export sector. Despite the complexities posed by various challenges, the non-oil export industry shows enduring promise and resilience, according to Onyeagwu. With insights from industry stalwarts and visionaries, the discourse unfurled strategies to surmount prevailing obstacles, channeling efforts towards expanding the sector’s influence on GDP and broader global trade.
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