Polaris Bank and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture have inaugurated an Export Express Support Centre at the NACCIMA Secretariat in Ikeja, providing Nigerian exporters, particularly MSMEs, with a dedicated hub for trade guidance, documentation support and financial advisory services.
Read also: Capital and technology to define the next phase of SME growth, says Regent MFB boss
Centre bridges critical knowledge gap for exporters
The Export Express Support Centre is designed to serve as a one-stop resource for businesses seeking to navigate the practical complexities of international trade. NACCIMA National President Dr Jani Ibrahim described the facility as a bold step in a collective commitment to strengthen Nigeria’s export ecosystem, offering guidance on documentation requirements, standards compliance and strategies for accessing regional and global markets.
Polaris Bank equipped the centre with laptops, a workstation, a modem and a printer to support efficient service delivery, with the bank also introducing a dedicated help desk for NACCIMA members to provide direct access to trade finance support, fast-tracked resolution of export-related enquiries and personalised advisory services on foreign exchange documentation and regulatory compliance.
Read also: Fintech firm puts N20bn into Nigerian SMEs in under a year
Low exporter activity underscores urgency
Figures presented at the inauguration reveal the scale of the challenge the centre aims to address. Nigeria has over 10,000 registered exporters, yet fewer than 1,000 are currently active — a participation gap that NACCIMA Export Group Chairman Kola Awe attributed largely to complex regulations, poor access to information and limited knowledge of export procedures among small businesses.
At $6.4 billion, Nigeria’s current non-oil export figure stands in stark contrast to Dubai’s $330 billion, illustrating the vast untapped potential in the sector and the scale of structural reform and practical support required to close the gap.
Read also: BAS Finance surpasses N20bn in SME loan disbursements across Nigeria
Financial barriers remain a central challenge
Polaris Bank’s Team Lead for Trade Services, Olaleye Arinola, stated that trade finance and payment barriers remain critical obstacles for SMEs attempting to scale internationally. The bank’s engagement focuses on removing friction from cross-border transactions by ensuring businesses receive international payments faster, with greater certainty and with comprehensive guidance across FX and compliance processes.
The bank also signalled intent to work alongside the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NAHCO and other stakeholders to reintegrate inactive exporters into the system and build a digital framework to expand participation in non-oil trade, with particular emphasis on drawing in women and youth entrepreneurs.
Read also: SMEDAN pushes to make Nigerian entrepreneurs bankable through new framework
Implications for Nigeria’s export diversification agenda
The inauguration of the Export Express Support Centre comes at a time when Nigeria is under sustained pressure to diversify revenue away from crude oil. Practical SME-focused support infrastructure of this kind, backed by institutional finance and trade expertise, could significantly accelerate the country’s non-oil export capacity if replicated at scale. Analysts note that knowledge and access barriers, not just capital, are among the primary reasons Nigerian exporters remain inactive, making advisory-driven initiatives like this a necessary complement to broader policy reforms.
