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Guidelines for the N500 billion Non-Oil Export Stimulation Facility (ESF), aimed at boosting non-oil exports in Nigeria, were unveiled on Thursday by Central Bank of Nigeria.

The CBN launched the facility in January in partnership with the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) after concluding that inadequate financing was responsible for the drop in non-oil export revenues from $10.53 billion in 2014 to $4.39 billion in 2015.

According to the CBN guidelines, the ESF will be implemented via a N500 billion debenture to be issued by NEXIM Bank in line with section 31 of the CBN Act.

“[NEXIM Bank] shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Facility and rendition of periodic reports on the performance of ESF to CBN,” the apex bank said.

The CBN said the ESF will grant loans with a tenor of up to three years at a maximum “all-in” interest rate of 7.5 percent while loans over three years will have a maximum “all-in” interest rate of 9 percent.

No loan shall exceed 70 percent of the total cost of the project and transactions shall be subject to a maximum of N5 billion. The ESF will have a tenor of up to 10 years and shall not exceed December 28, 2025, the apex bank said.

Eligible transactions that shall qualify for funding under the ESF are: (i) Export of goods wholly or partly processed or manufactured in Nigeria, (ii) Export of commodities and services, which are permissible and excluded under existing export prohibition list, (iii) Imports of plant & machinery, spare parts and packaging materials, required for export oriented production that cannot be produced locally, and (iv) Export value chain support services such as transportation, warehousing and quality assurance infrastructure.

In another circular also issued yesterday, the CBN said it has expanded the Export Credit Rediscounting and Refinancing Facilities (RRF) by N50 billion to support banks in their provision of pre- and post-shipment finance to exporters.

The apex bank also said that the RRF will be implemented via a N50 billion debenture to be issued by NEXIM in line with Section 31 of CBN Act.