Question Answered: Companies prioritise digitisation and access to trade finance

Trade & Supply Chain

Question Answered: Companies prioritise digitisation and access to trade finance

Published: Mar 2025

“Describe the key trade trends you face?”

Treasury teams are prioritising digitisation, trade finance and liquidity in today’s uncertain trading environment. Finland’s Konecranes – with a bird’s eye view of global trade flows – is keeping a wary eye on the potential impact of tariffs and the vulnerability in its long supply chains while in Nigeria, companies are navigating a scarcity of trade finance and FX, and prioritising digitisation and already experience the impact of tariffs on costs.

Adeyinka Ogunnubi

Group Treasury Manager, CFAO NIG LTD and President

Association of Corporate Treasurers of Nigeria

Here in Nigeria, one of our key concerns is access to trade finance. Geopolitical challenges post-COVID-19 and the Ukraine/Russia war, coupled with domestic issues like low crude oil production and lack of transparency in the FX market, have led to significant liquidity challenges. These challenges resulted in import loan obligations not being honoured on maturity due to FX scarcity.

Even forwards sold by the Central Bank were not honoured, impacting the country risk assessment of many correspondent banks. Consequently, access to trade lines for local banks was initially highly priced and later restricted, limiting these lines for corporates.

Forex scarcity is another issue. Access to FX liquidity is a major impediment to trade. The inability to pay suppliers on time or offset import loans, thereby extending open positions, hampers trade activities. We are also experiencing high volatility in the USD/NGN exchange rate which disrupts trade and impacts FX rate stability. Frequent fluctuations make planning difficult and necessitate constant price adjustments.

Treasurers are also concerned about the evolving regulatory landscape and its impact on corporate treasury operations. Ensuring compliance while managing liquidity and financial risks is challenging due to constant regulatory changes. Recent economic reforms and monetary policies by the Central Bank of Nigeria have also significantly impacted liquidity and borrowing costs.

The increase in the cash reserve ratio and the monetary policy rate has tightened liquidity, making it more challenging for businesses to access funds. High interest rates aimed at curbing inflation have increased the cost of borrowing, putting additional pressure on companies’ financial health. Supply chain challenges and a lack of clarity in hedging solutions are also issues for treasurers.

Corporates are diversifying trade flows to explore internal sources and reduce dependence on FX or seek cheaper raw materials. There has been a reasonable increase in intra-African trade, possibly influenced by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The rise of digital trade and e-commerce is reshaping trade patterns. Nigerian businesses are increasingly adopting digital platforms to reach global markets, streamline operations and reduce costs. Improvements in trade-related infrastructure, such as transportation and ICT, are facilitating smoother trade flows. Efficient infrastructure is critical for enhancing Nigeria’s trade competitiveness.

Tariffs and trade barriers, while protecting local industries and generating government revenue, often lead to higher costs, reduced consumer choice and potential trade conflicts. Specifically in Nigeria, they have been used to generate government revenue. In 2023, the Nigerian Customs Services collected ₦3.2trn in revenue, with estimates exceeding ₦6trn in 2024. They are also used to help shield local industries from international competition.

We are seeing the increased adoption of digital platforms. E-commerce and digital marketplaces are becoming more popular, allowing businesses to reach a wider audience and streamline operations. The Nigerian government has launched several initiatives to promote digital trade. The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030) aims to leverage digital technology to drive economic growth, including improving digital infrastructure, enhancing digital literacy and promoting digital services.

Nigeria’s fintech sector is booming, with companies like Flutterwave and Paystack leading the way. These innovations make it easier for businesses to conduct transactions online, manage payments and access financial services. There is a strong focus on developing digital skills among the Nigerian workforce. Initiatives by both the government and private sector aim to equip individuals with the necessary skills to thrive in a digital economy.

Jussi Kolehmainen

Director, Trade and Export Finance

Konecranes

We expect the demand environment within our industrial customers to remain healthy despite the macro-concerns around us like the rise of protectionism. Our sales funnels are on a high level and we keep receiving new sales opportunities.

Regarding our port customers, container throughput continues to be on a high level, and long-term prospects related to container handling remain good. Our port solutions sales pipeline includes a good mix of projects of all sizes. Despite the strong order intake in Q4, the market environment has not significantly changed compared to the previous quarters. Our aim is to continue our positive development in 2025, despite the macroeconomic concerns around us. No one wins if there is a trade war, and tariffs would impact many companies and sectors negatively. They could spur the relocation of production or change trade routes. As with tariffs, which are a form of geopolitical risk, there is the possibility of the relocation of production or the changing of trade routes. We review our supply chains and production footprint on a regular basis. In the last couple of years, it has become evident that dependency on a limited number of countries or subcontractors is risky, as long supply chains have demonstrated their vulnerabilities, for example during the COVID pandemic. There is a need for alternative supply chains, and we, as with many other companies, are studying different alternatives.

We don’t see any major challenges in the ECA support at the moment. Konecranes is not the biggest user of ECA-guarantees or loans and works mainly with two ECAs – Finnvera in Finland and Euler Hermes in Germany. Regarding supply chain finance, Konecranes has a global programme available for its vendors and this works quite well. Digitisation of trade finance is high on the agenda of Konecranes, and at the moment the global multibank guarantee platform is under our onboarding process to all Konecranes countries. Digital documents like parent company guarantees and electronic bills of lading are already in use or in the test phase. Digitalisation clearly increases productivity, decreases the possibility of errors and enables safe communication even when working remotely between parties.

Victoria Blake

Chief Product Officer

GTreasury

Global trade uncertainty is becoming the new normal. As tariff policies shift, supply chains realign and currency markets react, corporate treasury teams are at the center of the storm, tasked with ensuring liquidity stability, minimising FX exposure and optimising global payment workflows. This isn’t just about risk mitigation. Treasury is now a critical strategic function in global trade, transforming financial uncertainty into opportunity and resilience.

Leading treasury teams are focusing on three essential areas of innovation. First, they’re revolutionising liquidity visibility. Trade disruptions have immediate ripple effects, creating unexpected supplier costs, shifting payment cycles and fluctuating working capital needs.

Without a real-time view of liquidity, treasury teams risk making reactive decisions that strain cash flow and erode financial flexibility. The new best practice is implementing advanced forecasting tools that simulate multiple trade scenarios, factoring in tariff shifts, supply chain delays and FX swings.

By transitioning from static liquidity planning to real-time, predictive models, treasury teams can anticipate and mitigate disruptions before they impact operations. Companies leveraging dynamic liquidity forecasting are turning trade volatility into an advantage through careful scenario modelling and optimised cash reserves.

Trade uncertainty also fuels currency fluctuations, impacting cash positions, pricing strategies and profitability. Many companies still take a reactive approach to FX hedging, exposing them to unpredictable margin erosion. Forward-thinking treasury teams are integrating scenario-based FX risk analysis into cash flow models to proactively adjust hedging strategies based on trade-driven currency movements. By aligning hedging decisions with real-time cash forecasting and establishing structured exposure monitoring, treasury teams gain greater control rather than scrambling after volatility strikes.

With trade routes shifting and supplier terms evolving, cross-border payment efficiency is more critical than ever. Treasury teams must ensure that global payment workflows are optimised for cost, timing and compliance. This means centralising treasury operations for greater visibility and control, leveraging multi-currency accounts and optimised payment timing to reduce FX exposure, and utilising technology-driven payment automation and treasury solutions for seamless transactions.

Treasury teams have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to elevate their role in corporate strategy. The ability to navigate trade uncertainty, hedge against FX volatility and optimise liquidity planning isn’t just a financial necessity – it’s a competitive advantage. Companies that fail to modernise treasury operations risk falling behind, while those who embrace real-time forecasting, integrated FX risk management and agile global payments will thrive in this evolving trade environment.

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