NIGERIA- AFEX, Nigeria’s leading commodities market player, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kano State Investment and Properties Limited (KSIP).
The signing ceremony, held on February 21st at the AFEX Abuja office, marks a pivotal moment in the quest to rejuvenate the commodity landscape within Kano State.
The strategic collaboration between AFEX and KSIP underscores a shared commitment to bolstering the commodities sector, with a particular focus on agriculture, in Nigeria.
Central to this partnership is AFEX’s pledge to leverage its expertise to breathe new life into Kano State’s commodities ecosystem.
This includes the identification and activation of dormant commodity assets, infrastructure development initiatives, market expansion endeavors, and the establishment of a viable trading platform for commodities and commerce.
Moreover, the alliance aims to explore avenues for debt capital raised on the Exchange, directing funds toward projects and operations within the commodities sphere.
Speaking on the significance of the partnership, Auwalu Muktari, Managing Director of Kano State Investment and Properties Limited, emphasized the organization’s dedication to fostering economic prosperity and wealth creation for the people of Kano State.
“Our collaboration with AFEX heralds a new era in revitalizing the agricultural sector, harnessing human and financial resources to enhance economic productivity and unlock value for the state,” Muktari stated.
Kano State, renowned for its production of staple consumption commodities such as Maize, Paddy Rice, Sorghum, Soybean, and Sesame, as well as export commodities like groundnut, faces hurdles such as droughts, inadequate storage facilities, suboptimal fertilizer application, and scarcity of quality seeds.
The KSIP, established to stimulate industrial and commercial activities in the state, is poised to channel financing towards the agriculture sector, thereby bolstering productivity and resilience.
At the MoU signing, Ayodeji Balogun, Group CEO of AFEX, expressed enthusiasm about the collaborative endeavor, highlighting the potential to drive efficiency and innovation across Nigeria’s commodity value chain.
Balogun emphasized AFEX’s exchange model, designed to provide a centralized platform for stakeholders to engage in transparent and efficient trading, fostering fair pricing and unlocking capital for agricultural projects.
AFEX’s commitment to leveraging technology resonates with the broader objective of enhancing productivity for farmers and fortifying Nigeria’s agricultural sector. By facilitating access to inputs, AFEX empowers farmers to boost yields and enhance their livelihoods.
The partnership between AFEX and KSIP lays the groundwork for an inclusive commodities ecosystem in Kano, leveraging local expertise and models to forge a more efficient and inclusive value chain that benefits all stakeholders and enriches Nigeria as a whole.
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