Infracorp to commence operations next year with N1trn seed funding-Emefiele

MOTOLANI OSENI

As part of the efforts to catalyze further growth of the Nigerian economy, not less than a whopping one trillion naira in seed funding has been pulled together for the infrastructure company (Infracorp), to kickstart operations by January 2022, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele has revealed.

This is even as he said its Naira4Dollar scheme has seen remittance into the country grew from $5 million per week in June to over $100 million per week, while inflow at the Investors’ and Exporters’ window rose to $250 million as of last month.

Emefiele made these disclosures when delivering his keynote address at the 2021 Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) annual dinner in Lagos.

He explained that one trillion Naira has been provided as seed funds by the promoters to support the operations of Infracorp, while four fund managers, as well as a management team, has been selected to run and manage Infracorp.

According to him, over the next two months, Infracorp will kick off its operations by targeting strategic infrastructure projects that would help catalyze further growth of our economy.

Infracorp is expected to raise over N15 trillion to support investment in critical infrastructure in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Emefiele noted that the several policies of the apex bank on foreign exchange have seen the inflow of forex rise on the investors and exporters window as well as on the part of remittances.

“Remittance inflows have been supported by our naira for dollar program, and we have seen a surge in remittance inflows from over $5 million per week in June 2020 to over $100 million per week in October 2021.

“As a result of our demand management policy, the naira has remained largely stable around N411 per dollar at the I&E window particularly since the discontinuation of forex allocation to Bureau De Change operators along with the convergence between the CBN and NAFEX rates.

“Banks are now able to meet the demands of their customers seeking forex for SMEs, school fees, medical and PTAs, which has reduced the need of customers to rely on alternative providers of foreign exchange. Average daily forex turnover at the I&E window is now over $250 million, up from $40 million in April 2020.”

Earlier in his welcome address, President/Chairman of Council, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr Bayo Olugbemi congratulated the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, on the official lunch of e-naira. Africa’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) whose principal aim is to deepen financial inclusion and integrate millions of unbanked Nigerians into the banking system.

“Whilst the modality for the operation is being finetuned, I do not doubt in my mind that it is a welcome development and a step in the right direction. Equally worthy of note is the improvement, though slight, being witnessed in the exchange rate of the Naira. I wish to call for its sustenance. We are certainly working in interesting times with global growth rate at its lowest and traditional norms being challenged daily,” he said.

He added, “Since taking on the mantle of leadership of our revered Institute in May 2020, we have continued to build on the solid foundation laid by our predecessors, rooted in the tradition of constantly leaning forward into the future. We have explored new and uncharted territories, expanding the frontiers of our Institute, in our avouched resolve to build a future-forward Institute. In the light of this, some initiatives and achievements recorded this year have been collated and would be mentioned during a brief but highly informative documentary to be shared with you shortly.