{
  "id": 3660352,
  "title": "Zenith Bank’s 10th International Trade Seminar Charts Path to Unlocking Non-Oil Export Value",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/zenith-banks-10th-international-trade-seminar-charts-path-to",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-27T03:29:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/08/27/zenith-banks-10th-international-trade-seminar-charts-path-to-unlocking-non-oil-export-value/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On 25 August 2026, Zenith Bank Plc hosted the 10th International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export, marking a decade of efforts to diversify Nigeria's economy. The virtual event gathered policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors, and development partners from Africa and beyond to discuss how Nigeria can earn more from its exports. The seminar focused on moving beyond raw commodity exports to building competitive value chains, strengthening trade infrastructure and financing, and deepening the sector's contribution to sustainable growth.\n\nDame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, praised the Bank's Founder, Dr. Jim Ovia, for envisioning the seminar in 2015, and urged participants to turn Nigeria's improving export numbers into lasting economic value. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council reported that Nigeria's non-oil exports reached a record $6.1 billion in 2025, an 11.5% increase from $5.46 billion in 2024, and a significant jump from $612 million a decade ago.\n\nZenith Bank's partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and its integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System aim to make cross-border business easier for its customers. The Bank's CEO commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for structural reforms creating a more business-friendly environment, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, for improving foreign exchange stability and market confidence. She emphasized the need to accelerate growth by creating more value locally and exporting finished products, rather than raw materials.\n\nThe Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, MFR, called for deeper trade and investment reforms, better export environment, and wider market access within Africa and beyond. She emphasized that the focus should be on producing more competitively in Nigeria, processing more in Nigeria, connecting businesses to bigger markets, and ensuring the existence of financing, infrastructure, and trade systems to help them scale. The Minister highlighted Nigeria's role as an AfCFTA digital trade co-champion, positioning it to help shape the evolving market, particularly as digital trade creates new pathways for businesses to reach customers across the continent.\n\nProfessor Benedict Oramah, GCON, Chair of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) and former President/Chairman of Afreximbank, argued that the moment demands new thinking. He noted that the global economy is experiencing unprecedented levels of entropy, but a unique opportunity lies ahead. Africa can build its own internal demand, participate effectively in global supply chains, finance its own trade and industries, and create its own markets. Zenith Bank and its leadership were commended for advancing Nigeria's non-oil export agenda over the past decade.",
  "summary": "Nume Ekeghe Zenith Bank Plc hosted the 10th edition of its International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, marking a decade of sustained advocacy for the",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}