In an effort to boost non-oil foreign exchange earnings in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the RT200 FX programme in February of last year, with the goal of raising $200 billion in Foreign Exchange (FX) earnings from Non-oil Proceeds for the country over the next three to five years.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, explained at the program’s launch in Lagos that the RT200 Programme was built around five key anchors: Value-Adding Exports Facility, Non-Oil Commodities Expansion Facility, Non-Oil FX Rebate Scheme, Dedicated Non-Oil Export Terminal, and Biannual Non-Oil Export Summit.
More than a year after the program’s inception, foreign exchange repatriation into the country had increased by 40%, from $3 billion in 2021 to $5.6 billion in 2022.
According to the CBN, the Value-adding Export Facility is expected to provide concessionary and long-term funding for businesspeople who are interested in expanding existing plants or building brand new ones for the sole purpose of adding significant value to our non-oil commodities before exporting same.
A major anchor of the program, it added, is the Non-Oil Export proceeds repatriation Rebate Scheme.