Centre Unveils Export Launch Pad To Boost Trade Competitiveness

The World Trade Centre (WTC), Abuja, on Tuesday unveiled an export launch pad aimed at boosting Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.

The pad was unveiled by its vice president, Ahmed Adelaja, alongside the WTC Abuja Trade Desk shortly after  its webinar.

The webinar was on “Navigating Global Uncertainties and Breaking Barriers to Growth”, part of its series on `Nigeria’s Trade Competitiveness.

Adelaja described the pad as WTC Abuja’s flagship business accelerator, designed to empower Nigerian exporters, particularly small and medium-scale enterprises to compete successfully in international markets.

He said that the transformative initiatives were in response to the constraints limiting Nigeria`s competitiveness to global trade which aligned with Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda and the African Union 2063 Agenda, among other policies.

He expressed confidence  that the  launch pad  would provide solutions to concerns such as product packaging, compliance to international standards and access to logistics concerns.

“It will provide export-ready diagnostics, sector-specific market intelligence, packaging and compliance advisory and access to logistics partners, trade finance and verified international buyers.

“It will also serve as a pipeline for African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) trade, ECOWAS regional integration and global exports, focusing on agriculture, manufacturing, the creative economy and services, “ he said.

According to him, the unveiling of the export pad aims to ensure that no viable export idea in Nigeria fails due to a lack of knowledge, access, or support.

While unveiling the WTC Abuja Trade Desk, he said that it would serve as a dedicated liaison and support hub for exporters.

Adelaja said that the services of the desk would also include offering market entry assistance, regulatory support, documentation guidelines, policy issue escalation, and business matchmaking through the global WTC network.

He said that the trade desk would also work with relevant organisations such as the chambers of commerce, trade agencies, international partners, stating that the WTC was determined to become a bridge to global opportunity.

He said the trade desk would also work with relevant organisations such as chambers of commerce, trade agencies and international partners, emphasising  the determination of the WTC  to become a bridge to global opportunities.

The keynote speaker, Prof Jonathan Aremu, said that Nigeria’s trade competitiveness was facing both global uncertainties and  domestic barriers to growth, such as global volatility, weak oil prices and infrastructure deficits.

Aremu, a professor of International Economics Relations, said that navigating uncertainty and breaking barriers to enhance Nigeria’s trade competitiveness involved a multi-faceted approach from both the public and the private sector.

He said that the approaches include forming strategic partnerships, embracing digital transformation, diversification, local sourcing and regional import substitution, sequencing and negotiating Nigeria’s trade agreements and reordering the priorities of trade formulation and negotiation.

He said that the range of products or services offered in Nigeria should be expanded  to help businesses reduce their reliance on any single revenue stream.

“Exploring new markets, either within Nigeria or internationally, can help businesses spread risk by targeting different customer segments or expanding into new geographical areas.

“Diversifying investments across different asset classes and currencies can help protect against inflation and currency devaluation, “ he said.

President, National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Kevin Oye,said that the private sector plays a vital role in export competitiveness.

Represented by the director of the Abuja Liaison Office, Mahmud Ahmed, Oye said that  competitiveness  could be achieved through driving product and process innovation, powering production infrastructure, strengthening supply chains, and promoting global marketing.(NAN)