To enhance infrastructure and maximize export opportunities, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in Nigeria (MITI) and the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) are teaming up with the Africa Trade and Distribution Company (ATDC) to establish Nigeria’s inaugural national export trading company (NETC).
Talks are reportedly progressing well for the planned NETC, which is intended to act as an operational unit of ATDC. This initiative was initially created by Afreximbank through the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), in collaboration with Arise Integrated Industrial Platform (ARISE IIP) and Equitane, and in partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
In the presence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the first West African Economic Summit Deal Room in Abuja over the weekend, the NETC initiative was introduced. This initiative marks a significant change, aimed at helping Nigerian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) engage more effectively in regional and global markets. It achieves this by offering access to modern infrastructure, working capital solutions, and structured market connections.
The NETC will be created and managed by ATDC Nigeria, a newly formed joint platform that combines the institutional expertise of NCX in commodity markets with ATDC’s strengths in trade execution and logistics.
The company intends to tackle persistent issues within Nigeria’s export ecosystem head-on, focusing on areas such as warehousing, quality control, transportation, market access, and financial support for small-scale producers and agro-industrial small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Abdoul Aziz Ba, Chief Executive Officer, ATDC, “ATDC Nigeria will not just be an ordinary company – it will be a trade enabler. We are building a trade ecosystem that will provide market intelligence to enable producers to manufacture the products that are required by the market.
“The National ATDC will strengthen institutions like NCX, and help actualize the vision of the Honourable Minister and the Nigerian Government.”