The Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) Window Explained

For years, the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window was where Nigeria’s “official” market-reflective exchange rate was discovered. Understanding it explains how the naira rate you see today came to be.

What the I&E window was

Introduced in 2017, the I&E window let exporters, investors and banks buy and sell dollars at a negotiated, market-influenced rate rather than a fixed peg. It was meant to attract foreign inflows by letting them enter and exit at a rate closer to true value.

How it set the rate

Trades in the window produced a reference rate (the NAFEX fixing) that became the quoted official rate. It usually sat above the old pegged rate but below the parallel market — the famous “gap” everyone watched.

From I&E to NAFEM/NFEM

In 2023–2024 the CBN consolidated its various windows into a single, more freely floating market — the NAFEM/NFEM window — which replaced the I&E structure and narrowed the gap to the parallel rate. See what the CBN rate is today for where the official rate stands now.