The Export Expansion Facility Program and Export and Sell Limited have partnered to empower non-oil exporters with the skills needed to expand their operations and explore over $400bn monthly sales market on Amazon.
The EEFP is being implemented by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, It said part of the partnership would enable both institutions to train the non-oil exporters on how to label their products to meet US regulators’ requirements, warehousing of the product as well as listing and sales, among others.
According to the statement, the EEFP is geared towards disbursing the N50bn export development fund that is part of the Federal Government’s N2.3tn Economic Sustainability Plan.
It said the scheme had supported over 1,100 businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It said the NEPC had also facilitated a business focused on capacity building, training Nigerian businesses on the rudiments of improving their exports.
The statement said Export and Sell had also been tasked with training and on-boarding over 10,000 Nigerian businesses on Amazon.
The Chief Executive Officer, Export and Sell, Nduka Udeh, said all the partners had seen the need for training to help Nigerians to improve their export earnings by embracing online training that would enhance their knowledge of the export business.
“There is a difference between just putting your goods on a plane and having someone ship it and doing the right thing,” he said.
According to him, doing the right thing entails products meeting the quality for export which ensures that products from Nigeria are not rejected in the ports of other countries. According to Udeh, helping businesses to export has a huge multiplier effect across the economy by increasing the volume of export earnings.
EEFP’s Programme Coordinator, Maureen Ideozu, said to capitalise on Amazon’s $400bn market, it was important to have Nigerian businesses listed on big e-tailers like Amazon US.
She said, “When made-in-Nigeria listed businesses can bolster their revenue and earn in dollars, it improves their ability to scale, create employment and broaden their tax remittance to the Nigerian government.”
According to the statement, so far, the EEFP has through the EDF increased Export and Sell’s training capacity from 1,000 business to over 10,000.
It said with funds from the grant, the company had launched an online training platform and had also secured a training facility in Lagos.
