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Heritage Bank, GEZAWA set to transform Nigeria’s agric sector to huge commercial hub
L-R: Ibrahim Muhammad-Fari, Cluster Head/Experience Centre Manager, North Zone, Heritage Bank; Ahmad Isa-Dutse, Regional Head, North-East & North-West, Heritage Bank; Jude Monye, Executive Director, Heritage Bank; Binchang Binfa, MD, Makarios Global Resources Ltd and Project Consultant to Gezawa Commodity Market & Exchange Limited; Haj. Bilkisu Aliyu, Head of Operations – Project Implementation, Gezawa Commodity Market & Exchange Limited and Adelana Ogunjirin, Team Lead, Agric. Finance & Export, Heritage Bank, during the Heritage Bank signing of MoU, as the Lead Settlement Bank and Transaction Adviser to the Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Ltd, in Kano, at the weekend.
…Emerges Lead Settlement Bank, Transaction Adviser
The Nigerian agricultural sector is set to witness a huge growth, as Heritage Bank Plc the lead settlement bank for Gezawa Commodity Market (GCMX) has collaborated with key stakeholders to revolutionise agricultural value-chain, aimed at providing fully integrated ecosystem for commodity Exchange.
Heritage Bank was appointed as the Lead Settlement Bank and Transaction Adviser to the Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Ltd and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two firms, whilst over 10, 000 farmers in 3000 cooperatives in the 44 local governments of Kano States were hosted.
The partnership between Heritage Bank and the Exchange would facilitate the ease of agro commodity trading in a more structured way, especially with the closeness to the Dawanu, the largest grain market in Africa.
The MD/CEO of Heritage Bank Plc, Ifie Sekibo, who was a panelist at the 2nd GCMX Farmers’ Cooperative Forum in Kano at the weekend, stated that the partnership is targeted to de-risk the sector that would bring about structured and enhanced agro-business and attain food security that leads to economic development.
Sekibo, who was represented by the Executive Director, Jude Monye explained that the partnership which would help bridge the huge gap associated to risk, will fast track effective price discovery mechanism and traceability and enhanced trade settlement services.
Specifically, the bank’s helmsman stated that under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Heritage Bank would provide on-lending funding to aggregated farmers in the 2020 farming season to grow various products that will serve as raw materials to the processors, thereby ensuring market linkages and access to the market as well as reduce importation and conserve Nigeria’s external reserves.
According to him, with its assigned position Heritage Bank would play a pivotal role in ensuring that there would be an effective and readily available platform for market linkages among players in the agribusiness value chain, involving FMCGs, warehouse operators, collateral managers, processors, farmers’ cooperatives to transact in a seamless way that guarantee quality, quantity, payment and delivery.
Speaking the event, the ED/CEO of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Segun Awolowo affirmed that the initiative would help foster diversification of non-oil export trade.
He, however, stated that NEPC would ensure that the primary for the signing of the MoU would be achieve, whilst calling for the need to ensure adequate and seamless supply of agricultural commodities for the business to be sustainable.
The Gezawa Project Consultant, Binchang Binfa, Managing Director of Makarios Global Resource, disclosed, “the ultimate goal was to unlock the vast potential of agricultural value chain via partnerships and synergy with likeminded enterprises, organisations and institutions that will mutually create wealth, generate local employment and contribute significantly to the economic growth and GDP the nation.”
He stated that the Exchange would provide services on price discovery and transparency, increase foreign exchange earning capacity, commodity storage and warehouse receipt system, employment generation of 15, 000 direct and indirect jobs, investment opportunities, increase in non-oil export, ease of doing business, weather report, soil test report, as well as 24/7 online trading of commodities on alive trading platform.
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ZENITHBANKPARTNERSLAWMA,LASWATOCOMMEMORATEWORLDENVIRONMENT DAY 2026 WITH TWO-PHASE LAGOS CLEAN-UP
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Much more than commemorating the annual Children’s Day marked every May 27, Zenith Bank Plc is championing thenarrativethatchildrenarethetrueleadersoftomorrow.TheBankhasdeepeneditsinvestmentincarefullycuratedinitiativesthatelevatechildrenacrosseducation,financialliteracy,health,digitalinclusion,andsocialprotection,building a generation equipped to thrive and lead. For Zenith Bank, every child matters, and the Bank’s footprint reflectsa deliberate, pan-African strategy to nurture potential from the earliest age.Zenith Bank has been the financial institution partner to Kiddies Corner on Inspiration 92.3FM Lagos for over threeyears, anchoring the Tuesday edition and Zenith Financial Literacy Friday show. The programme blends spelling beecontestswithfinancialliteracyquestions,creatingawarenessandonboardingchildrenintotheZenithChildren’sAccount (ZECA). This partnership came alive at the Inspiration FM Children’s Day Carnival on Saturday, May 23, 2026,whereZenithBankhostedover1,000childrenandtheirparents,celebratingZECAwinnerswithgames,skits,andZenith Bank branded gifts.The Bank’s Zenith Financial Literacy Week, held quarterly, takes this mission into select schools across all 36 statesandtheFCT.Studentsaretrainedonsavings,budgeting,basicinvestments,anditsretailproducts,withthetopperformer in each school awarded N50,000. Complementing this is the Bank’s nationwide Financial Literacy ProgramundertheCBN-mandatedGlobalMoneyWeek,whichin2025alonereached3,622studentsacross22LGAs,deploying 137 bank employee volunteers as educators.In alignment with the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on Quality Education, Zenith Bankhasdonatedstate-of-the-artICTcentresandcomputersystemstoschoolsanduniversitiesnationwide,includingaComputerCentretoBamainaAcademy,Dutse,JigawaState.Itstransformativeinterventionsincludefullyequippedlibraries,vocationalfacilities,andlarge-scaleschoolrenovations,fromOjotaSecondarySchoolandVictoriaIslandSecondary School in Lagos to Hugallawa Primary School in Jigawa. Targeted financial support further breaks barrierswith N1 million cash donation to Louisville Girls High School, Ijebu-Itele, supporting girl-child education; infrastructureupgrades at Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School; a N1 million scholarship endowment for St. Francis CatholicSecondary School; and support for the North-East Children’s Fund to aid education in conflict-affected communities.Through its Primary Healthcare Centre Initiative across all 774 LGAs, Zenith Bank educates parents on early childhoodsavings during routine visits, linking health and financial well-being. The “PAD-A-QUEEN” Initiative commemorates theInternational Day of the Girl Child, reaching5,000 girls in 10 schools withsanitary pads, hygiene kits, and menstrualhealth education to keep girls in school and promote SDGs 3, 4, and 5.The Bank’s compassion extends to the most vulnerable. At Bethesda Home and School for the Blind, Idi Oro, Lagos,Zenith donatedbraille materials,food, and toiletries.For the2026 InternationalDay forStreet Children,it partneredwithBosco Child Protection Centre on medical check-ups, food, clothing, and counseling. Annual Christmas Charity Visits toorphanagesdelivercash,toys,andessentialsupplies,whilesupportfortheSmileandShineChildrenFoundation’sStrive Conference empowers over 2,000 adolescents with life skills and leadership training.Commenting on the Bank’s intentionality towards the development of children, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, GroupManaging Director/CEO, ZenithBank Plc, said, “AtZenith Bank, weare deliberate about initiativesthat elevate childrenbecausetheyarenotjustourfuture,theyareourpresentresponsibility.AsWhitneyHoustonsopoignantlysang,‘Ibelievethechildrenarethefuture,teachthemwellandletthemleadtheway.’Thatisthephilosophydrivingourinvestmentsineducation,financialliteracy,health,anddigitalinclusion.FromKiddiesCornertoICTcentres,fromPHCs to orphanages, we are teaching them well, equipping them early, and giving them the tools to lead. Zenith Bankrenews its commitment to every Nigerian child, to nurture their dreams, protect their dignity, and secure their tomorrow.”Championing youth expression, the Zenith Annual Youth Parade, hosted by the Bank for 19 years, stands as a flagshipCorporate Social Responsibilityinitiative. Bringing togetherthousands of childrenand teenagers in avibrant showcaseof unity and discipline, the parade has remained dedicated since inception to the vital mission of supporting, nurturing, -
andempoweringtheNigerianchild,reinforcingtheBank’sbeliefthatleadershipislearnedearlythroughteamwork,confidence, and celebration of young Nigerian identity.ForZenithBank,Children’sDayismorethanadateonthecalendar.Itisadailypledgetoempower,protect,andprepareNigeria’schildrenforleadership.Fromclassroomstocommunities, the Bank’s initiatives are teaching them welland letting them lead the way because the future belongs to children who are equipped today.
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