The Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo,says his council has granted N50 billion naira for Export expansion facilities.
Awolowo,who made the declaration in a one- day sensitization workshop on ” Export Competency Development to Enhance MSMEs Success in ECOWAS and Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA)” organized by NEPC Headquarters, Benin city, Edo state,explained that the grant was designed to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added:The N50 billion export grant has two components and has given us a kind of leverage and opportunities to implement export development funds,” Awolowo explained.
He also lamented Africa nation’s abhorrence in engaging in trading with themselves, but preferrence for trade relationship ,with America and European countries.
Awolowo, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Policy and Strategy, Akintunde Folorunso, said the AfCFTA was signed in July 2, 2019 and Nigeria was the last country that sign the agreement, because there was this insuination that, the Nigeria market was flooded by a lot of products, from everywhere.
“Before it was signed, the National Office of Trade Negotiation move around the country to carry out research analysis after which we signed the agreement and was ratified on December 5, 2020.We have 55 countries in Africa , with 1.2 billion people that Trade among themselves. Is on record that, Africa don’t like trading with themselves. They like trading with Europe and America.”
” Now AfCFTA is with us. This is a kind of economy integration in Africa, and Nigeria need to prepare for the markets. A lot of agreement has been prepared for us, how are we going to take advantage of it is the matter. Nigeria as giant of Africa, we have to go into the market and capture it. To do this we have to get ourselves prepared. There’s a lot of competitors in the market, especially from the North Africa.
“NEPC before now, has been looking for a lot of programmes to make sure MSMEs succeed in Nigeria. And to see people gain access into international markets to do business or trade. “
Speaking,the Trade Promotion Advisor,NEPC, Benin Export Assistance Office, Mrs Ngozi lbe, said AfCFTA when fully implemented will boost and increased intra African trade creating a single African market of over 1 billion consumers with a Gross Domestic Product of over $3 trillion