First Trustees seeks sustainable financing models for agric

First Trustees Limited has called for innovative and sustainable financing models to drive long-term growth in Nigeria’s agricultural sector, stressing that access to capital alone cannot address the challenges confronting the industry.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Ereifemi Akeredolu, made the call at the maiden Commercial Trust Colloquium organised by First Trustees, a subsidiary of FirstHoldCo Plc, in Lagos.

The colloquium, themed “Beyond Intervention Funds: Building Sustainable Financing Models for Nigerian Agriculture,” brought together stakeholders from the public and private sectors to examine alternative funding mechanisms for agriculture and ways of attracting long-term private investment into the sector.

Akeredolu said sustainable agricultural development depended on more than the availability of funds, arguing that investors needed confidence in the structures, governance and risk-management mechanisms surrounding their investments.

“In my work across trust and financial services, I have seen that sustainable growth is rarely the result of funding alone. Capital moves more confidently when responsibilities are clear, risks are properly understood, governance is sound and all parties can rely on the structures around a transaction,” she said.

According to her, trust institutions could contribute significantly to strengthening accountability, protecting the interests of parties to transactions and ensuring compliance with agreed obligations.

She said these functions were critical to building financing structures capable of supporting viable agricultural businesses over the long term.

Participants at the event examined challenges across the agricultural value chain, including risk allocation, productivity, financing gaps and the need to deepen private-sector participation.

They also explored mechanisms for moving beyond government intervention funds and developing financing structures capable of mobilising sustainable private capital for businesses across the agricultural ecosystem.

The event also featured the unveiling of an upgraded digital platform by First Trustees. The company said the platform would digitise some of its trust-service processes, reduce paperwork and simplify documentation requirements for clients.

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