The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has disclosed that over 100 Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) have received export certifications to qualify them for the exportation of their products.
The Executive Director of NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak, revealed this while speaking in Jos on Sunday.
Yakusak, who paid a visit to the council’s regional office in the Plateau, praised the team for handling and carrying out the organization’s mandates in an efficient manner.
He also commended the agency for its initiatives to educate and empower the public about the benefits of exporting.
Regarding various industry advancements, the ED pointed out that the organization has solved several export business constraints with the introduction of the “Go Global Go certification” program.
He continued by saying that the Export Promotion Council assisted and fully funded the accreditation of more than 100 MSMEs.
“I need to also say that at the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, we have done several interventions to ensure that we promote the export of non-oil goods from Nigeria.
“One of the key things we’ve embarked on is a programme called ‘Go Global Go Certification.’
“And that programme is where we identify the various MSMEs with potentials and those that have products that need to be exported.
“And we actually pay for the certification of those products because most of the cases of export rejected from Nigeria is due to non-certification of those products.
“We identify those MSMEs and we invite various certifying bodies both within and outside Nigeria.
“They come here and check through their processes of production and they certify them and so far, we have certified about 101 various MSMEs now.
Yakusak pointed out that, despite the fact that 101 might seem like a modest number, the cost of each certification was entirely covered by the NEPC some of which cost over one million naira, depending on the type.
“Some of them like ISO costs up to one million, one million plus and if you multiply that by 100 each you know how much you’ve put in.
“And everything in terms of the financial cost was borne 100 per cent by NEPC.
“And of course, that has increased our exports and increased the chances of those MSMEs exporting into the international market.
“It has also given a competitive edge to our products. These are some of the things we are doing to ensure that Nigerian products are out there.”
MSME Africa had earlier reported concerted efforts of the NEPC in equipping MSMEs in export businesses with available finance options.
