“There are sufficient economic activities in each region of Nigeria that can grow hubs combined with the smaller airports attached”

Managing Director, Flight and Logistics Solutions Ltd, Amos Akpan

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in partnership with West Blue Consulting, United Parcel Services (UPS) and Trade Law Center (TRALAC) have unveiled a digital trade solutions platform, tagged eTradeHubs portal.

The initiative is expected to expand market access and economic opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises in Africa - especially women owned businesses.

The eTradeHubs portal developedby two indigenous African technology providers - Global Trade Solution (GTS) and West Blue Consulting - provides a 24/7 interface for women traders and entrepreneurs in Africa (along with their male peers) to connect and access timely and up to date information, skills and operational tools, offered by the various service providers within the supply chain.

Designed to leverage on the benefits arising from the operationalisation of the AfCFTA Agreement, the eTradeHub portal aims to reduce the time and cost of doing business by supporting enterprises at all levels – from micro to multinational.

The Chief Executive Officer and Founder of West Blue Consulting, Valentina Mintah, in a statement said the portal features include a multi country tariff and trade information tool as well as a duty calculator.

“A first-time trader or existing trader wishing to import raw materials or export finished goods, can search on the portal for the specific HS Code, related tariff lines, preferential rates of duties, and regulatory procedures and documents required for that specific item. The duty calculator further provides an estimate of the customs duty, tax and levies of the destination region or country, to aid in financial and logistics planning.

“Using the eTradeHubs portal, the trader is able to process trade documentation, manage compliance, workflow and costs -all on the same platform, without the need to visit multiple regulatory agencies, entities, websites and physical offices. The platform enables enterprises to scale-up and digitize their operations by providing access to online training, webinars and workshops,” he said.

The portal, he added, currently provides country data of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and the ECOWAS sub region, with more countries and sub regions soon to be added, in line with the Digitize 5 million

African SMEs initiative.

He said: “ICC, West Blue, UPS and TRALAC through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) announced a partnership in February that will provide capacity building programmes and tools, including co-developed trade and information portal called eTradeHubs, to help women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) expand their operations to new markets in Africa and around the world.

“Through the auspices of the “Women Traders in AfCFTA” working group, this partnership will collaborate with advocacy groups, trade associations, and other stakeholders on the continent to support women owned businesses.”

Secretary General of ICC, John W.H. Denton at the virtual launch of the partnership said: “The economic, social, and health consequences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have unequally impacted the lives and livelihoods of women business owners everywhere.

“We are extremely proud to partner with UPS, TRALAC, and West Blue Consulting to level the playing field in Africa and provide women entrepreneurs with the required resources to digitise their businesses. Womenled businesses are the backbone of their local economies – we can’t afford to leave them behind.”

Mintah added: “the adoption of smart solutions by women in business and trade will ensure benefits such increased flexibility for women to work from home whilst raising children, improved access to global markets, networking opportunities and a significant shift of women from the informal to the formal sector.”

Skyway Aviation Handling Company PLC (SAHCO) said it has been entrusted with the responsibility of providing aviation Ground Handling for the Astraceneca vaccines at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first batch of the vaccines, which was received by the Nigerian government, “was coordinated in a safe, efficient and seamless manner that SAHCO is known for.”

SAHCO said it is present in all the commercially operated airports in Nigeria, which would make distribution of the vaccines effective and timely.

Also, SAHCO has well trained staff with CEIV Certifications which qualifies SAHCO for handling of pharmaceuticals and fitted with well-conditioned warehouse storage facilities that can be regulated to meet the specific needs of any pharmaceuticals, making SAHCO the preferred choice for handling the much-needed vaccines.

“It is also important to note that SAHCO is equipped with cold rooms and freezers that is fitted with the latest technology of handling temperate sensitive Cargo devices that adapts to the required temperature of any shipment.

“These devices also known as Data Loggers are fitted with unique feature of the whole space. These temperatures are then closely monitored by SAHCO’s highly trained staff to identify any anomalies.

“The freezers, which are below zero are adequate to handle the Covid-19 vaccines with huge capacities and any other temperature sensitive shipment,” the company said in a statement.

In addition, SAHCO said it provides effective transit ground handling services to client airlines through the company’s ultra-modern transit warehouse which is also equipped with an effective cold-room that regulates perishables at their required specified temperature to avoid denaturing.

In a related development, SAHCO has acquired a new fleet of Sherpa tractors to boost its Ultra-modern fleet of Ground Handling Equipment so as to exceed customers’ expectations.

“Sherpa tractor is a Goldhofer product that is headquartered in Germany and reputed for producing quality and durable Ground Equipment Products. The Sherpa tractors which have reputation of providing reliable support for a wide range of tasks is manufactured to be rugged, eco-friendly,” the company said.

SAHCO said that animal lovers can now heave a sigh of relief as SAHCO has constructed a well-conditioned Animal Parlour for those who want to import or export animals through SAHCO warehouse in Lagos.

“The Animal Parlour is a well partitioned warehouse that is fitted with animal friendly temperature to prevent the animals from exhaustion before transition,” it added.

SAHCO is certified with RA3 and IATA’s Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) which shows the high level of commitment to training, enabling SAHCO to be a one stop shop.