The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Ezra Yakusak, has said that the council is targeting over $5bn revenue from non-oil export.
He disclosed that this had prompted NEPC to step up its training and sensitisation efforts of intending exporters on appropriate practices and requirements.
Speaking during an awareness workshop on the importance of mandatory and non-mandatory certification in accessing export market for SMEs and intending exporters in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State recently, Yakusak, who was represented by an Assistant Director, Afolabi Bello, said that NEPC’s contributions to the Nigerian economy in terms of revenue had been massive.
He added that the council had developed various strategies and initiatives to grow the Nigerian non-oil export sector.
He said, “We are enlightening and educating SMEs and intending exporters on how to access the export market. All these are now reflected in the non-oil export figure. In 2023, we should earn over $5bn as non-oil export revenue,” he said.
NEPC Ekiti State Coordinator, Mrs Iyabode Abe, said, “The dividends of this workshop among others are to equip exporters and SMEs in Ekiti State with the knowledge on mandatory and non-mandatory certification for their products, which could as well enhance their drive for export business.”
Abe said the workshop would expose the SMEs and exporters to the technicalities of export business to have a clear competitive edge in the global market and as well expose them to new business ideas and strategies.
The coordinator assured that NEPC under Yakusak would continue “to promote the development of non-oil export in order to safeguard the nation’s economy as we all know that the large population of Nigeria is one of the greatest assets of the country in its economic diversification agenda”.
The Permanent Secretary of Ekiti State Ministry of Trade and Industries, Mr Ayodele Adeyanju, lauded NEPC efforts in promoting non-oil exports in Ekiti State, saying the result had been encouraging.
Adeyanju, who said the export market was tremendous, advised SMEs and prospective exporters in the state to abide by the requirements and ensure they had the mandatory and non-mandatory certifications to give their products and services a competitive edge globally.
