NSDC, NEXIM Forge High-Impact Financing Alliance to Accelerate Nigeria’s $2bn Sugar Industry Transformation

Sunday Ehigiator

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and the have sealed a strategic partnership aimed at unlocking long-term, development-focused financing to drive large-scale transformation of Nigeria’s sugar industry.

The collaboration emerged from a high-level meeting between both organisations in Abuja, where discussions centred on mobilising sustainable funding to boost local sugar production and reduce import dependence.

Leading the NSDC delegation, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, proposed a partnership framework anchored on the Engineering, Procurement, Construction plus Financing (EPC+F) model to finance viable sugar projects across the country.

Explaining the structure of the partnership, Bakrin said the NSDC would originate and develop policy-aligned, bankable projects while supporting equity mobilisation, while NEXIM Bank would spearhead capital mobilisation through international Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), coordinate syndication with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), support foreign input financing, and provide risk mitigation instruments, including guarantees and commercial risk insurance.

Speaking on the investment potential in the sector, Bakrin said, “Nigeria cannot achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production on short-term capital. What the sector requires is patient, long-tenor financing deployed at scale and backed by policy certainty. By partnering with NEXIM Bank and international export credit partners, we are putting in place a financing architecture that allows serious investors to execute, not speculate.”

He further highlighted the scale of market opportunities available within the sugar value chain, noting that Nigeria’s sugar market is valued at about $2 billion, while the broader African sugar market stands at approximately $7 billion. He added that sugar by-products alone account for a market exceeding $10 billion in Nigeria.

Bakrin stressed that Nigeria is strategically positioned to competitively serve both domestic and regional markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), provided long-term, appropriately priced financing is deployed to scale sugarcane cultivation and industrial processing.

He disclosed that the EPC+F financing model has already been successfully deployed through an existing partnership between the NSDC and SINOMACH, a leading Chinese engineering and industrial conglomerate. According to him, the arrangement has structured financing of up to $1 billion at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus three per cent, with a 15-year tenor and a three-year moratorium to fast-track large-scale sugar projects nationwide.

Bakrin stated that the model is projected to deliver annual foreign exchange savings of about $300 million through import substitution, generate more than 50,000 jobs across the sugar value chain, and enable up to 25 per cent import substitution within five to ten years.

He also outlined institutional reforms being implemented to de-risk investment in the sector and strengthen execution certainty.

According to him, smuggling and related activities undermining local production are being addressed through stricter enforcement and effective implementation of penalties.

Bakrin emphasised the sector’s inclusive growth framework, saying large-scale sugar projects are structured to create employment across farming, processing, logistics and ancillary services, while incorporating outgrower schemes to integrate smallholder farmers into commercial value chains and enhance rural incomes.

He further noted that host community participation remains central to project sustainability through preferential employment, skills development programmes, and investments in local infrastructure, healthcare and education.

On environmental sustainability, Bakrin said, “The sector supports value-added renewable co-products such as ethanol and bioelectricity, contributing to climate and energy-transition goals. NSDC promotes environmentally responsible production models and sustainable land-use practices, alongside inclusive community and outgrower participation, positioning projects to attract climate-aligned and development-oriented capital.”

He added, “Sugar projects are anchored on credible operators with proven technical and financial capacity, with community acceptance and land access treated as gating criteria at early stages of development to enhance execution certainty and long-term bankability.”

Responding, the Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Mr. Abba Bello, welcomed the initiative and acknowledged the sugar industry’s strategic importance to Nigeria’s economic diversification and export development agenda.

Bello said, “We recognise the strategic importance of the sugar industry to Nigeria’s economic diversification, export development and value-chain expansion objectives.”

He further stated, “NEXIM Bank is interested in exploring structured partnerships that would unlock long-term financing, strengthen local value chains and enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness within regional and international markets.”

He also commended the Council’s approach, saying, “We commend the structured and execution-focused approach being adopted by the NSDC and reaffirm NEXIM Bank’s commitment to supporting viable export-oriented and import-substitution projects that align with national development priorities.”