Lekki Free Zone set to partner Gluwa on Blockchain technology

As part of an effort to strengthen its contribution to the Nigerian economy, the Lekki Free Zone Development Company (LFZ) is in talks with Gluwa, a blockchain technology company. The pair wants to collaborate and use blockchain to promote trade cooperation, growth and sustainability between new and existing Free Zone businesses. The partnership will also explore the creation of a virtual free zone in the Lekki Free Zone.

Financing operations with digital asset-backed loans

Lekki Free Zone’s Head of Strategy, Innovation and Special Projects, Tomiwa Idowu, has disclosed that discussions are ongoing between the LZF, the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority and the Gluwa team.

In a statement, Idowu explained that the partnership, once completed, will create a dashboard for the tokenization of goods into NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and provide digital asset-backed loans to new and existing businesses looking to finance operations and/ or expand their business, similar to the integration of OpenSea and Compound.

Idowu shared his vision to innovate the commercial and industrial sector in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, bringing it into the modern information age with the Lekki Free Zone at the epicenter.

Idowu said:

“I am extremely excited about the enormous potential of such a partnership, which will further establish Lagos State as Africa’s leading sub-national in terms of innovation, economic development and revenue generation.”

He commended the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as a beacon of progress and hope for the nation at large, saying: “Our governor has always been a strong believer in rapid development, which involves using technology to skip red tape and go right to solve immediate problems.”

The Managing Director of Gluwa, Tae Oh, noted that the firm is keen to partner with the Lekki Free Zone as it is the largest and most developed Free Zone in Nigeria with proximity to the deep sea port as well as the Dangote refinery, saying:

“Trade has been the bedrock of the Nigerian economy, with annual volumes in the billions of dollars. We believe the digitization of the sector can allow us to exploit its full potential. For example, a standard process to digitize goods produced or processed within the zone together with a market system on Web3 allow manufacturers to trade globally via the blockchain.”

All trades will be registered and benefit from the incentives of the Lekki Free Zone, such as zero taxation and free circulation of goods. As soon as the goods are cleared for export by the customs center in the zone, they will be sent directly from the Lekki free zone via the deep sea port.

This will reduce delays, eliminate human error, exponentially increase Nigeria’s non-oil exports and maintain a positive balance of trade for the nation. While the team at Gluwa is still working out the fine details and a specific framework with NEPZA, Tae Oh believes it is the future of trade and commerce in Africa.

Gluwa is an Open Finance platform that connects capital from developed markets to loan opportunities in emerging markets using blockchain technology. Providing the decentralized infrastructure rails to raise and disburse capital anywhere in the world, investors can use the Gluwa Invest platform to enter into debt financing deals with fintech lenders in emerging markets, earning up to 15% APY.