Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, has identified lack of trust as the main problem affecting the growth and development of the Nigerian commodity market.
By Cynthia Alo
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, has identified lack of trust as the main problem affecting the growth and development of the Nigerian commodity market.
He disclosed this while delivering a welcome address on a webinar organised recently as part of measures to promote SABEX, a digital commodity exchange empowered by blockchain technology. The webinar held with the theme: AgroCommodities as a Viable Asset Class.
SABEX, which was designed to facilitate the exchange of agro commodities, operates through an ecosystem of buyers, financiers, warehouse operators and other players in the agro commodity trading business across Nigeria.
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SABEX, which was designed to facilitate the exchange of agro commodities, operates through an ecosystem of buyers, financiers, warehouse operators and other players in the agro commodity trading business across Nigeria. On SABEX, traders – typically farmers – can pledge their warehoused agricultural goods as collateral to access instant loans to facilitate their business growth.
Suleiman said the webinar had the objective of developing trust in the commodity market because there is currently no trust among players in the sub-sector, starting from farmers to micro players and exporters across the value chain.
He said there is a need to build trust in the payment, partnership, product, price and delivery elements of the agro commodity trading business. He added that “We need to financialise commodities to the point that they are similar to digital assets.”