NEPC certifies 36 SME exporters to promote non-oil exports

THE NIGERIAN EXPORT PROMOTION COUN CIL NEPC, HAS CER TIFIED 36 SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRIS ES (SMEs) exporters as it aims to enhance the country’s non-oil exports and address the frequent rejection of Nigerian exports especially by the European Union.

Addressing the beneficiaries at a brief ceremony in Abuja, Ezra Yakusak, the executive director of the council, explained that the primary objective of the project was to encourage value addition against the export of raw agricultural produce and enable the SMEs compete favourably in the lucrative international markets while getting premium pricing for their products.

Yakusak emphasised that penetrating international markets for processed and value-added products, particularly food items require additional voluntary certification to enable the products access overseas market.

He noted that accessing global markets had become stricter due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, which requires tougher inspection regimes at border control points in importing countries.

“These stricter and increasingly competitive requirements imply that exportable food items must strive to acquire additional non-mandatory certification(s) to enable them to compete globally,” he said.

The NEPC director also disclosed that the Export Expansion Facility (EEG) programme would be leveraged for the certification of more SME exporters in preparation for the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA).

According to Yakusak, in the council’s efforts to curb the high rate of export rejection and to build the capacity of exporters, it had engaged a reputable certification expert, Top Certifier, based in Bangalore, India, to provide certification awareness training to manufacturers and producers.

The India based company, he explained, guides companies and organisations certification for ISO, CE, FSMS and other international certifications and has successfully executed over 3,000 projects across 20 countries.

Speaking in the same vein, Williams Ezeagu, NEPC director, product development, said the council adopted the ‘Go Global, Go For Certification’ to ensure that the SMEs compete favourably in the international markets.

Ezeagu explained that the initiative, including the NICOP programme had a total of 40 SME exporters that benefited from the certification projects including the 26 that will be awarded HACCP, Halal, USFDA and ISO 22000 certifications.

He also disclosed that the council collaborated with the German Cooperation International (GIZ) in implementing the Nigeria Competitiveness Project (NICOP) to support key value chains in Nigeria by promoting structural transformation and improving access to regional and international markets through certification in order to conform with pre-requisite international food safety standards in alignment with benchmarked global standard and global value addition.

“The certifications under this collaboration include Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), ISO 22000:2018 and ISO 9000:2015,” he added.