Zenith Bank Plc has rallied policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers and investors to move Nigeria’s non-oil export sector beyond the shipment of raw commodities and focus on value addition, stronger production capacity and access to wider markets.

The call was made at the 10th edition of the bank’s International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export held virtually on Tuesday under the theme, “Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth.”

The seminar, which marked 10 years of Zenith Bank’s advocacy for economic diversification, attracted participants from across Africa and beyond to examine ways of increasing Nigeria’s earnings from non-oil exports.

Speaking at the event, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, Dame Adaora Umeoji, said the country must convert rising export figures into sustainable economic value.

She said, “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.”

According to Umeoji, data from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council showed that Nigeria’s non-oil exports rose to a record $6.1 billion in 2025, from $5.46 billion in 2024 and $612 million a decade earlier.

She added that Zenith Bank was working with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat to develop the SMARTAfCFTA portal, while its integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System was helping to ease cross-border transactions.

“Wherever our exporters need to reach, Zenith Bank will reach with them,” she said.

Umeoji also commended the Federal Government for reforms aimed at improving the business environment and the Central Bank of Nigeria for measures that have strengthened foreign exchange stability and market confidence.

However, she stressed the need for Nigeria to do more than export raw materials.

“As we build on the progress recorded so far, 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 said.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said Nigeria must focus on retaining a larger 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 ministry’s priority was to make Nigerian production more competitive, increase local processing, connect businesses to larger markets and ensure that financing, infrastructure and trade systems were available to support expansion.

She said Nigeria’s position within the AfCFTA presented a major opportunity for local businesses, particularly with the continent’s market of more than 1.4 billion people and an estimated $3.4 trillion economy.

“It is about enabling Nigerian firms to sell more products, reach more markets and deepen regional value chains,” she said.

The minister, who said she assumed the chairmanship of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers in July, added that Nigeria’s role as an AfCFTA digital trade co-champion could help local businesses take advantage of digital platforms to reach customers across Africa.

She urged financial institutions to move beyond financing individual export transactions to supporting the broader capacity of exporters, while encouraging businesses to invest in productivity, quality and skills.

Former President and Chairman of Afreximbank and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Export Development in Africa, Professor Benedict Oramah, said Africa must rethink its approach to trade and economic development.

“The theme chosen for this 10th edition is both apt and timely,” he said.

Oramah noted that global economic uncertainty had created both challenges and opportunities for Africa.

“The question is whether Africa, and Nigeria within it, can build her own internal demand, participate effectively in global supply chains, build the capacity to finance her own trade and industries, and create her own markets,” he said.

He commended Zenith Bank for sustaining its support for Nigeria’s non-oil export agenda over the past decade.

The Founder and Executive Chair of Plot Enterprise Ghana Limited, Mrs Patricia Poku-Diaby, said Nigeria could only maximise its export potential by processing more of what it produces.

“Let us make no mistake: the future of our economy will not be determined simply by what we grow or what we mine, but by what we transform,” she said.

Poku-Diaby urged Nigeria to move from being a supplier of raw materials to becoming a producer, processor, manufacturer and exporter of competitive African brands.

Speaking on Nigeria-UK trade relations, the UK Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rt. Hon. Florence Eshalomi, represented by the Head of Trade Policy for UK Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, Ms Mujina Kaindama, said Nigeria had significant potential to increase the value of its exports.

“One of the most promising opportunities lies not simply in increasing exports, but in increasing the value of those exports: moving further up the value chain, processing raw materials, developing branded products and creating higher-value manufactured and agricultural goods,” she said.

The Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, said the private sector would be critical to Africa’s economic transformation.

“The private sector is at the heart of the fundamental restructuring of Africa’s economy that all of us want to see,” he said.

Mene said the success of AfCFTA would ultimately depend on whether businesses could use the agreement to access new markets, expand investment and increase production capacity.

The seminar featured public and private sector panel sessions focusing on trade facilitation, customs efficiency, logistics, access to finance, certification, market intelligence and competitiveness.

Participants included representatives of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Ports Authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Export Promotion Council and private-sector companies involved in manufacturing, agriculture, logistics and international trade.

The Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export was launched in 2015 to promote dialogue and practical solutions around Nigeria’s non-oil export potential.

The 2026 edition was streamed across Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok and attracted thousands of participants from 97 countries.

The bank said it would continue to support exporters through financing, market opportunities, incentives and other practical interventions aimed at helping Nigerian businesses compete more effectively in regional and global markets.

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