The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), on Monday, said it would continue to sustain the increased efforts to expedite the competitiveness of Nigerian exportable brands in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market.
The commission said it would do so through partnership and collaboration with relevant agencies and international development partners to ensure Nigerian exporters are adequately and sufficiently prepared for the African single largest market.
Ezra Yakusak, executive director/chief executive officer of the NEPC gave the assurance considering that Nigeria signed the AfCFTA on July 7, 2019, and deposited the instrument of ratification of the AfCFTA agreement on December 5, thereby becoming the 34th member state to formally ratify the treaty.
He noted that fifty-five member states of the African Union (AU) established the AfCFTA to create a single continent-wide market for goods and services and to promote the movement of capital and natural persons while it represents an important milestone in achieving an economically integrated Africa.
According to him, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) estimates that AfCFTA would boost intra-African trade by 52.3percent once import duties and non-tariff barriers are eliminated. The AfCFTA will cover a GDP of $2.5 trillion of the African market.
Speaking in a keynote address presented at a workshop on “Export Competency Development Programme to Enhance MSMEs Success in ECOWAS and AfCFTA”, held in Asaba, Yakusak who was represented by Akintunde Folorunso, deputy director, policy and strategy of the commission, stated: “It is our responsibility as the apex agency responsible for the promotion of non-oil export to ensure that our exporters are fully armed with all necessary skills and requirements to be able to operate in this market.
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“The good news is that the present administration (in Nigeria) is committed to providing all the necessary support to the SMEs in order to strengthen their capacity through various initiatives and schemes.
He listed other efforts of the commission, including the Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP) which is one of the federal government’s initiatives to support and facilitate SME exporters access to the export market as well as the establishment of the National Action Committee (NAC) on AfCFTA to among other objectives, facilitate stakeholders’ engagements, trade facilitation and inclusiveness, among other things.
Anthonia Ugbogu, permanent secretary, Delta State Ministry of Trade and Investment, in her speech, said that the state government was willing to collaborate with exporters and potential exporters in the state to attain competency in accessing ECOWAS and African Market.
Earlier in his welcome address, Peter Onokpasa, trade promotion adviser, NEPC, Asaba export assistant office, had implored the participants to maximize the gains inherent in the programme, by paying rapt attention to the resource persons and asking questions that would help them achieve success in exporting to other African countries that are members of the two bodies (ECOWAS and AfCFTA).
In an interview with BusinessDay, the participants at the workshop commended the NEPC for its commitment to empowering exporters with the requisite knowledge about export.
Henry Eseadi, a participant and assistant secretary, National Ginger Farmers Association of Nigeria, noted that the workshop was rich as it exposed them to so many things that could be exported within the African region and how to access funds for successful export business.
