The second edition of the Fidelity International Trade and Creative Connect got off to an enthusiastic start on Tuesday, 24 October 2023, as leading financial institution – Fidelity Bank Plc, hosted a diverse range of businesses, regulators, diplomatic corps members, and other guests to the opening ceremony in Houston, Texas, United States of America.
The Times reported that the two-day event aims to expand the pool of Nigerian companies exporting to the US market, giving the diaspora market additional ethnic product options, and assisting exporters in developing the capacity to raise product quality and comply with international standards.
According to the MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, “Developments on the global stage have required the need to continuously seek viable options as businesses fight to remain competitive in a quickly shifting macroeconomic environment.
“We established the Fidelity International Trade & Creative Connect in 2022 and held the expo’s first edition in London last November in order to close these gaps
“During the event, over 100 Nigerian businesses were connected to their UK counterparts, and agreements worth around $200 million were closed both during and after the event.
“We’re stepping it up this year because we want to close agreements that will total roughly $250 million. For this reason, we have designed a complex experience to assist stakeholders in achieving this goal at this expo as well as a number of others.”
Following the welcoming speech, the ambassador of Nigeria to the United States of America, Dr. Uzoma Emenike, and the president and chairman of the board of directors of the African Export-Import Bank, Professor Benedict Oramah, gave the keynote and goodwill addresses respectively.
The exhibition, which included over 160 US and Nigerian companies involved in the non-oil extractive, fintech, commodities, fashion, cosmetics, service, and creative industries, was a major component of the event.
Fidelity Bank, rated among the top banks in Nigeria, is a fully functional commercial bank serving more than 8 million clients through its 251 business locations in Nigeria and the UK as well as online.
The bank won two awards from the Global Banking and Finance Awards: Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 and Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023. In addition, the bank was recognized at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions Awards as the “Fastest Growing Bank” and the “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year.”
