NSDC, NEXIM bank partner to finance sugar projects

The National Sugar Development Council and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank have agreed to financing large-scale sugar projects targeted at improving efficiency and reducing import by 25 per cent. The partnership was sealed on Wednesday in Abuja following a meeting between the two organisations, a statement by the Council has said. According to the statement, the […]

The National Sugar Development Council and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank have agreed to financing large-scale sugar projects targeted at improving efficiency and reducing import by 25 per cent.

The partnership was sealed on Wednesday in Abuja following a meeting between the two organisations, a statement by the Council has said.

According to the statement, the collaboration will leverage the Engineering, Procurement, Construction plus Financing (EPC+F) model, with NSDC developing viable sugar projects and NEXIM Bank anchoring capital mobilisation, including access to international export credit agencies and risk-mitigation instruments.

Executive Secretary of NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, said the partnership addresses the limitations of short-term funding in achieving sugar self-sufficiency.

“Nigeria cannot achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production on short-term capital. What the sector requires is patient, long-tenor financing deployed at scale and backed by policy certainty,” he said.

“By partnering with NEXIM Bank and international export credit partners, we are putting in place a financing architecture that allows serious investors to execute, not speculate

“The expected impact of large-scale sugar projects, including creating over 50,000 jobs across farming, processing, logistics, and related services, will also reduce imports by up to 25 per cent within five to ten years,” he said.

Speaking further, Bakrin explained that outgrower schemes will integrate smallholder farmers into commercial value chains, boosting rural incomes.

Echoing the strategic importance of the sector, NEXIM Bank Managing Director, Mr Abba Bello, welcomed the initiative and acknowledged the strategic importance of the sugar industry to Nigeria’s economic diversification, export development and value-chain expansion objectives.

He expressed NEXIM Bank’s interest in exploring structured partnerships that would unlock long-term financing, strengthen local value chains and enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness within regional and international markets.