Business
AGOA: Centre Blames African Govts For Failure

The World Trade Centre, Miami, United States has blamed inadequate funding by African governments for the poor showcasing of African products under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA)
The Centre’s Director, African Trade Expansion Programme, Yemi Arosanyin, said this at the ongoing 24th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Kigali, yesterday.
According to Arosanyin, African governments are not utilising the opportunities presented by AGOA to aid growth of small businesses.
“For instance, contrary to reports, most Nigerian products are good and sophisticated, the challenge has been government’s poor funding in the appropriate areas to promote the products.
“There are agencies responsible for the promotion of these products, which need to fine tune the products for them to be accepted in the U.S.
“The Federal Government needs to do more in this regard. The funding needs to be fast because AGOA has only eight years left before it will either be stopped or reviewed by the American government,’’ she said.
She added that Nigeria apart from crude had a lot to export to the U.S. in the areas of food and beverages, fashion and art works.
According to her, these products require little push to compete favourably at the international markets, except for South Africa no other African country out of the 38 countries under AGOA benefits from non-oil products.
Arosanyin said that to achieve much from AGOA, the centre had partnered Afreximbank to help African countries overcome the challenges by promoting their products.
The Tide source reports that the theme of this year’s AGM is: “Transforming Africa’s Trade’’.
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Blue Economy: Minister Seeks Lifeline In Blue Bond Amid Budget Squeeze

Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is seeking new funding to implement its ambitious 10-year policy, with officials acknowledging that public funding is insufficient for the scale of transformation envisioned.
Adegboyega Oyetola, said finance is the “lever that will attract long-term and progressive capital critical” and determine whether the ministry’s goals take off.
“Resources we currently receive from the national budget are grossly inadequate compared to the enormous responsibility before the ministry and sector,” he warned.
He described public funding not as charity but as “seed capital” that would unlock private investment adding that without it, Nigeria risks falling behind its neighbours while billions of naira continue to leak abroad through freight payments on foreign vessels.
He said “We have N24.6 trillion in pension assets, with 5 percent set aside for sustainability, including blue and green bonds,” he told stakeholders. “Each time green bonds have been issued, they have been oversubscribed. The money is there. The question is, how do you then get this money?”
The NGX reckons that once incorporated into the national budget, the Debt Management Office could issue the bonds, attracting both domestic pension funds and international investors.
Yet even as officials push for creative financing, Oloruntola stressed that the first step remains legislative.
“Even the most innovative financial tools and private investments require a solid public funding base to thrive.
It would be noted that with government funding inadequate, the ministry and capital market operators see bonds as alternative financing.
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