Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President, disclosed that the Federal Government spent roughly N50 billion to position export-oriented enterprises in the country.
Osinbajo stated this at the Nigerian Export Promotion Council’s two-day National Conference on Non-Oil Export, titled “Export for Survival: Optimising Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export Potential” (NEPC).
The goal of the conference was to provide a forum for stakeholders in the non-oil export sector to share their perspectives on current and upcoming challenges that influence the industry.
According to Osinbajo, the federal government is committed to improving the competitiveness of our businesses in what is on track to become one of the world’s largest regional single markets.
“This is why our Export Development Fund, under the NEPC, has invested N50 billion to help position export-oriented Nigerian businesses,” the vice president added.
“By offering access to capacity-building programs as well as business incentives, they will be able to compete in this burgeoning regional market.”
He emphasized the importance of increasing productivity in order to support Nigeria’s economic diversification efforts, as well as the necessity to strengthen the non-oil economy.
“In 2021, Nigeria’s non-oil income stood at N1.15 trillion, up 4.73 percent from the fourth quarter and accounting for around 92.51 percent of the country’s entire Gross Domestic Product,” he stated (GDP).
“Non-oil revenue accounted for 92.68 percent of our overall GDP in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The rise in the year after that demonstrates our non-oil export economy’s increasing resilience and diminishing sensitivity to global oil market shocks.”
“Beyond these figures, there are personal stories of bold visions and tenacity, relentless innovation, and the unwavering spirit of Nigerians around the country who are developing model enterprises and businesses.”
Businesses will be helped by the government.
Osinbajo demanded that regulatory bodies act as facilitators rather than impediments to businesses, noting that it is the government’s job to assiduously enable businesses with regulatory policies, procedures, and processes that are constantly optimized for greater efficiency and ease the flow of business across sectors.
“This must be linked, promptly, with the supporting infrastructure needed to facilitate production, distribution, and export,” he went on to say. “It is programmed to consolidate on the removal of regulatory constraints around agro-exports, and drive the electronic filing of taxes and publication of insolvency regulations pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020,” according to the National Action Plan (NAP 7.0) on the Ease of Doing Business. The NAP 7.0 agro-export plan prioritizes port and trade facilitation changes in order to reduce cross-border trade and logistics costs for Nigerian enterprises who are AfCFTA compliant. These actions are supplemented by increased automation, such as the National Single Window, which is in line with the EU’s Single Window Directive.
“These initiatives are reinforced by greater automation, such as the National Single Window, which is compliant with the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.
“The installation of cargo scanners, which is backed by the Port Community Portal, which is designed to enhance inter-agency communication, has also aided in the reduction of cargo clearing time.”
What you need to know
As part of its diversification plan and to minimize reliance on oil, the Federal Government has implemented a number of regulations and incentives to help raise the volume of exports from the country as well as its processes.
This will also assist Nigeria in increasing its revenue base and earning more foreign cash.
PEBEC was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2016 to remove bureaucratic barriers to conducting business in Nigeria and make the country a more attractive place to start and expand a company.
