The Nigerian Export Promotion Council( NEPC) has stressed the need for increasing the application of Information and communication technology ( ICT) to revamp export supply chains to meet customer demands.
The trade promotion advisor, NEPC, Kaduna state bright office, Mr Kassim Ahmed, stated this at a capacity building programme organised for Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Kaduna.
According to him, the new E-commerce channel will lead to doing business more smartly and sustainably, and most are established among MSMEs.
- Kaduna youth hawk ‘sand’ to help parents, sponsor education
- Kaduna LG polls: We are ready to safeguard lives and property, CP assures electorate
- Kaduna suspends weekly markets, bans sell of petrol in jerrycans
“Thus, there is need for an underlined reason for NEPC to teach MSMEs ways of adapting to cloud-based communications, creation and use of online collaborations, and productivity tools that induced more frequent communication, and enhanced business results”, he said.
Speaking earlier, NEPC executive director Olusegun Awolowo said Small and Medium-scale enterprises currently contribute 75% of the National employment.
Awolowo, who was represented by the assistant director, Export development and incentives, Abubakar Umar, said, SMEs represent one of the most critical sectors of our economy. It currently represents 96 per cent of the businesses in Nigeria and contributes 75 per cent of the national employment. Thus, he went on, grow in the economy as a whole and the level of engagement throughout Nigeria.
“The country has abundant opportunities in the non-oil export which include agricultural commodities, semi-processed products, and handicrafts, solid minerals et al., most of which are yet to be fully harnessed.
“Increases in higher-level education and the existence of accessible online training initiatives are bringing digital skills to those able to access them.
“However, low enrolment in primary education and the poor quality of that education coupled with a lack of digital skills in curricula is segmenting digital skills into a slim share of the population, excluding most of the MSMEs from the benefits of the digital world.
“As the biggest economy in Africa with the growing population of young people, Nigeria is well-positioned to develop a robust digital economy, which would have a transformational impact on the country. Therefore, there is a need to connect the tremendous economic potentials MSMEs digital platform has to offer.
