Italian agency trains agribusiness entrepreneurs as supply partners
THE Italian Trade Agency ( ITA), an Italian government body that supports business development, partnerships and collaborations between Italian companies and foreign businesses, has commenced ELab Innova training in Nigeria for selected food and agricultural entrepreneurs and their companies.
While addressing journalists at a press conference yesterday, Dr. Alessandro Gerbino, Director of ITA, West Africa, said: “The E- Lab Innova holds prospects for Nigerian companies to be imparted on the knowledge and technicalities of their counterparts abroad, while also paving the way for collaborations between Italian and Nigerian agribusinesses.”
He added that: “It is a pleasure to see the collaboration between the Italian Trade Agency ( ITA) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council ( NEPC) to develop the capacity of agribusinesses and aid their integration into the value chain of European Union markets.”
The training is aimed at increasing the technical and managerial skills of Nigeria agri- food companies to support their access to EU markets and foster business partnerships with Italian companies.
E- Lab Innova is aimed at chief executive officers of high potential Nigeria companies, selected with the support of Nigeria Export Promotion Council ( NEPC), active in one of mango, pineapple, shea nuts, groundnut production or aggregation.
The programme also includes three phases: preliminary assessment, study tour in Italy and webinar training classes.
The preliminary assessment is carried out by ITA experts through individual web meeting with Lab Innova tutors to assess the company’s potential, objectives and strategies. It assesses their technical and management training requirements and internationalisation potential and design their profile of cooperation.
On webinar training lab, two weeks of webinar training classes focused on key internationalization topics would be carried out by ITA faculty experts in a dynamic environment, including simulations, storytelling and role- playing for a total six to eight sessions of two hours each.
The phase two is segmented into two modules: empowerment, improved productivity and quality, understanding the impact of modern technologies on competitiveness. It trains such companies how to face competition on international markets and acquire more knowledge of international fruit and vegetable market opportunities.
Marketing, logistics, standards and certifications, payments are also included in the training with the support of ITA Faculty experts. Eight participants will attend empowerment or advanced modules according to their assessment and their objectives.
Grazia Bellanova, Deputy Consul General- Consulate General of Italy, Lagos, said: “We have a section in our embassy. Our presence in Nigeria is about a year ago. The first sector where we want to develop our activities is in the agricultural value chain. There lie opportunities for Nigeria and Italy.”