Fidelity Bank Plc has said that it is well positioned to advance the CBN policy thrust to reduce the country’s dependence on oil revenue.
The bank stated this at a sensitisation workshop tagged, ‘Harnessing export business opportunities, CBN RT200 FX Policy: Policy sensitisation, emerging sector issues & implications to business.’
Speaking at the event held in Akure, Ondo State, the bank’s head of export and agriculture businesses, Mr. Isaiah Ndukwe, said there is the need for strategic planning in the non-oil sector.
He said the bank was in the vanguard of the CBN’s efforts towards actualizing $200 billion in foreign exchange repatriation from non-oil exports over the next five years.
He stated that the bank was committed to growing the export business across key sectors of the economy by providing support to exporters.
Isaiah emphasised that the new policy will not only reshape exporters’ mindsets, but will also infuse value addition on their commodities, allowing them to earn more forex.
Commending Fidelity Bank on the sensitisation series, an attendee and cocoa farmer, Mr. Babatunde Fatimiro said, “In Ondo State today, cocoa has a dedicated agency; this is unprecedented in Nigeria.
“If you consider the potentials and inclusive advantage as well as economic impact of cocoa production to the Nigerian economy, I have no doubt that cocoa will one day overtake crude oil in terms of economic importance in Nigeria.
“It is initiatives like this workshop hosted by Fidelity Bank that would help us actualize this quickly and I encourage them not to rest on their oars as they drive to help diversify the economy,” he said.
The workshop was attended by representatives from key stakeholders in the Nigerian financial services and export industries.
Also in attendance were representatives from the Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), the Cocoa Exporters Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) amongst others.
The RT200 FX Programme was launched on February 10, 2022 by the CBN as part of measures to reduce the increasing demand for foreign currency by importers.
It is designed to reduce the excessive pressure on the exchange rate.
With the implementation of the policy, the CBN said the supply of foreign currency to commercial banks will cease by the end of 2022, while investors will be able to generate forex through the RT200 FX Program template that has been designed to strengthen commodity exports.
Recall that Fidelity Bank hosted the first edition of the workshop in Kano State on 21 February 2022 to sensitise entrepreneurs in the region on the implementation and opportunities in the CBN RT200 FX Policy.
