Business: NEXIM, FEWACCI to Create Regional Maritime Institution

The Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), the Federation of the West and Central Africa Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FEWACCI) and TRANSIMEX (an integrated logistic services provider based in Cameroun)  Monday held a forum on their planned Sealink project in Accra, Ghana.
A statement said the forum offered a unique and compelling investment proposition to private sector entities in the West and Central African regions.


The agencies had in 2012 formed a special purpose vehicle, Sealink Promotional Company Limited to drive the strategy and business model for the successful implementation of the project.

According to the Managing Director of NEXIM, Mr. Roberts U. Orya, the purpose for setting up a regional/transnational maritime shipping company was to link seaports on the West and Central African coast in order to facilitate trade and ensure smooth transportation of cargo and passengers within and between the two regions.

“This objective is primarily towards realising the objectives of the founding fathers of ECOWAS for free movement of persons, goods and services within the sub-region,” the NEXIM boss added.

The Sealink project had been endorsed and supported by various regional bodies that identified with the project. Notable among them were the ECOWAS, the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Union of African Shippers’ Council, African Development Bank, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development and West African Development Bank (BOAD).

The project had been presented to the governments of member countries as well as their various maritime and ports organisations and authorities of member countries.

Orya also said the Sealink project offered unique and compelling investment proposition for the region in terms of inter and intra-regional trade.

“Introducing a direct coastal link between the two regions is expected to have a multiplier effect on rate of economic growth in these regions thus providing adequate returns for investors.
“The Sealink project is a private sector initiative which has gained the full support of various supranational bodies across West and Central Africa including ECOWAS Commission, FEWACCI, and the Maritime Organisation of Central Africa (MOWCA). This is expected to enhance funding and assist the company to navigate the maritime regulatory regime in the region.

“The investment provides an opportunity to enable investors without prior exposure to the maritime sector or to the West and Central Africa region to diversify their portfolio and would grow with other sectors including oil and gas, agriculture and mining which are currently witnessing exponential growth in West and Central Africa,” he added.