Zenith Bank Plc has rallied policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors and development partners from across Africa and beyond to deepen Nigeria’s non-oil exports and maximise the country’s growing opportunities in regional and global markets.
The call was made at the 10th edition of the Bank’s International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export, held virtually on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, under the theme, ‘Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth.’
The seminar marked a decade of Zenith Bank’s advocacy for economic diversification and focused on how Nigeria can move beyond the export of raw commodities to developing competitive value chains, strengthening trade infrastructure and financing, and increasing the contribution of non-oil exports to sustainable economic growth.
In her welcome address, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, said Nigeria’s non-oil export performance had recorded significant growth, citing data from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council.
She disclosed that non-oil exports reached a record $6.1 billion in 2025, representing an 11.5 per cent increase from the $5.46 billion recorded in 2024 and a major rise from $612 million a decade earlier, referencing the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
‘Our theme, ‘Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth’, is not just a slogan. It speaks to the opportunities before us and the need to translate our collective efforts into sustainable economic value,’ Umeoji said.
She said Zenith Bank was supporting exporters through initiatives designed to make cross-border trade easier, including the development of the SMARTAfCFTA portal in partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System.
Umeoji also urged Nigeria to accelerate local value creation by processing and exporting finished products rather than relying heavily on the export of raw materials.
She commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the structural reforms creating a more enabling environment for businesses, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, for reforms that have improved foreign exchange stability and market confidence.
‘As we build on the progress recorded so far,’ she added, ‘it is important that, as a nation, we accelerate growth by creating more value locally and exporting finished products, rather than just raw materials,’ she added.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, in her keynote address, said Nigeria must focus not only on increasing export volumes but also on retaining a greater share of the value generated from its exports.
‘The question before us now is not simply how to export more, but how to retain more value in Nigeria from everything we export,’ she said.
Oduwole said the government’s focus was to increase competitiveness, expand local processing, connect Nigerian businesses to larger markets and ensure that financing, infrastructure and trade systems were available to support businesses.
She highlighted the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area, particularly its market of more than 1.4 billion people and an estimated $3.4 trillion GDP.
The minister also called on financial institutions to move beyond financing individual export transactions to financing the capacity of businesses to export sustainably.
The Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Export Development in Africa and immediate past President/Chairman of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, said Africa needed a new approach to economic development.
According to him, the continent must strengthen its internal demand, participate more effectively in global supply chains and build the capacity to finance its own trade and industries.
He commended Zenith Bank for sustaining its non-oil export advocacy over the past decade.
Similarly, the Founder and Executive Chair of Plot Enterprise Ghana Limited, Mrs Patricia Poku-Diaby, stressed the importance of value addition.
She said the future of African economies would depend not simply on what countries grow or mine, but on how much value they add before products leave their shores.
Speaking on Nigeria-UK trade relations, the UK Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rt. Hon. Florence Eshalomi, MP, represented by Ms Mujina Kaindama, said Nigeria had enormous entrepreneurial talent and opportunities to increase the value of its exports.
She said moving up the value chain, developing branded products and producing higher-value manufactured and agricultural goods could help Nigerian businesses generate greater returns, create jobs and promote sustainable economic growth.
The Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, said the private sector remained central to Africa’s economic transformation.
He said the success of AfCFTA would ultimately depend on whether businesses could use the agreement to access new markets, expand investments and increase productive capacity.
The seminar featured public and private sector panel sessions, with discussions focusing on trade facilitation, customs efficiency, logistics, access to finance, product certification, competitiveness and market intelligence.
Participants also examined the challenges confronting exporters and the need for structured financing to enable Nigerian businesses to expand production and compete effectively in international markets.
The Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export was launched in 2015 to promote dialogue and practical action around Nigeria’s non-oil export potential.
Ten years later, the Bank says it remains committed to supporting the sector through market opportunities, financing, incentives and practical assistance for exporters.
The 2026 edition was streamed live across Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok, attracting thousands of participants from 97 countries.
The seminar ended with renewed calls for stronger collaboration among government, financial institutions and the private sector to ensure that Nigeria converts its growing non-oil export earnings into greater domestic value, jobs and sustainable economic growth.