At Joint Forum With NACCIMA to Boost Air Exports, NAHCO Restates Support for Nigeria’s Non-Oil Revenue Drive

L-R: Chairman, NACCIMA Export Group, Barr. Kola Awe; Ag. DC, NAHCO Warehouse, Asst. Comptroller of Customs, Yusuf Tukur; Director–General, NACCIMA, Engr. Sola Obadimu; Group Executive Director, CBD, NAHCO Plc, Prince Saheed Lasisi; Produce Officer 1, Federal Produce Inspection Office, Mrs. Unyime John Akpan; CEO, Petlizzy Global Limited, Mrs. Elizabeth Ajayi and Senior Produce Officer, Mr Donald Chigozie at the NAHCO/NACCIMA SME Export Engagement & Capacity Building Forum which held on Tuesday in Lagos.

*Executive Director, Lasisi, says NAHCO positioned at the centre of Nigeria’s export value chain

The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (nahco aviance) has renewed its commitment to boosting the nation’s non-oil revenues. The Company gave this assurance Tuesday when it held a capacity building forum on export processing for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Lagos.The Group Executive Director, Business & Business Development, NAHCO Plc, Prince Saheed Lasisi, who spoke at the event said NAHCO has keyed into and is contributing to Federal Government’s realization of the vision of a 1 trillion-dollar economy by 2030. “A major focus of the government in achieving this goal is commodity exports. And to record the needed volume in commodity exports, the nation needs the small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” Lasisi declared.”Lasisi said NAHCO recognises the contribution SMEs make to national development and is charting the way forward in preparing them for foreign markets.He pointed out however that SMEs needed to build capacity in export processing because exporting agro products and commodities requires strong logistics and handling backbone and that NAHCO sits at the centre of the export value chain. He explained that the company serves as the link between exporters, airlines, and regulators.In this role, NAHCO will provide necessary guidance in cargo handling, including in areas of the quality of Product preservation, regulatory compliance, on-time flight connections, and acceptance requirements by international buyers.Prince Lasisi, in his presentation, also detailed the specialized packaging required for perishable and sensitive items. “We have provided, with FAAN’s approval, a proper packaging facility in the airport area. Our packaging area is in the NAHCO Export Packaging and Processing Centre (NEPPC), the only one of its kind in Nigeria, and we started operations in July last year. NAHCO also has an Export Desk that provides support for exporters,” he explained.In his paper at the event, Chairman, NACCIMA Export Group, Kola Awe Esq, said NACCIMA has put in place initiatives designed to assist smaller businesses. He said, “We have created the NACCIMA Export Support Centre for MSMEs. The average exporter faces a lot of challenges. A lot of exporters are finding it difficult to scale their businesses because of so many challenges. Multinationals are faring better than MSMEs because they have the financial might to take on any issues they might face in exporting.”Highlighting the economic weight of small businesses, he said, “MSMEs contribute significantly to the Nigeria economy. There are an estimated 39.6 million MSMEs in Nigeria, though this number has slightly declined in recent years due to a challenging economic environment. This is why we need to provide support for MSMEs. MSMEs also have a strong presence in agriculture, retail, and manufacturing. The NACCIMA Export Support Centre for MSMEs is a practical export intervention initiative to support SMEs.”The Director General, NACCIMA, Engr. Sola Obadimu, had, while welcoming participants to the event stated that the collaboration between NAHCO and NACCIMA highlights the importance of private sector partnership in Nigerian agro products growth. “Today, MSMEs account for 80 to 90% of businesses and they employ more than 80% of the workforce. Yet, their contribution to exports remains mostly disproportionate. If more SMEs embrace export, we can change the narrative. Addressing the barriers that SMEs face requires cooperation from various stakeholders. Nigeria’s economy has a lot of potentials and the activities of NACCIMA would contribute to achieving our goals,” he declared.According Obadimu, while agriculture contributes to over 20% of Nigeria’s GDP, agro based exports still represent only a modest share of our local export earnings, likely due to procedural bottlenecks, lack of adequate export knowledge, weak export readiness, logistics challenges, and limited access to structured export support.Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director of Polaris Bank, represented by the Bank’s Head of Commercial Banking, Mrs. Ladi Ene Garba, emphasized the importance of non-oil exports when she made the point that, “Today’s program is especially timely as Nigeria seeks to reduce oil dependence and fuel a more resilient and sustainable economy. Nigeria remains largely dependent on crude oil for their foreign exchange earnings with oil accounting for approximately 90% of our crude oil earnings. Non-oil exports contribute less than 10% of our overall economic output.”Building on this perspective, Mrs. Garba further detailed the risks associated with the nation’s current fiscal structure pointing out that, this structural imbalance exposes the country’s economy to external shocks and global oil price voltage.“Expanding non-oil exports is therefore not an option but a strategic imperative for economic development. A vibrant non-oil export sector will deliver multiple benefits to the Nigerian economy in many ways,” she stated, adding that Polaris Bank, which is already the leading financial institution in SMEs support, will continue to support SMEs in the country.In his remarks regarding the Nigerian government’s initiatives to boost national exports, President, Aviation Cargo Committee, Mr. Ikechi Uko, emphasized the necessity of air logistics. He observed, air freight is very important for growth of SMEs. According to him, “A lot of aircraft come into Nigeria full but they leave empty. The government is trying to organise air export business so that aircrafts\ can leave the country filled with Nigerian goods.”While sharing industry insights on managing MSMEs within the Nigerian landscape, the MD/CEO, Burcont Shipping Nigeria Limited, Dr. Akin Oladipupo, commended the organizers for the collaborative effort, stating, “I want to thank NACCIMA and NAHCO for giving us this great event and for making us come together to discuss about this industry. There are billions of naira in the farming and agricultural industry that are untapped. What is Nigeria really doing about our food exports into other countries?”He said a forum such as the NAHCO/NACCIMA forum would proffer solutions to this problem.Present at the event were important government agencies critical for agro export. They include the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service NAQS), National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Federal Produce Inspection Office (FPIS), Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).Also present were airlines and logistic partners including Turkish Cargo, Lufthanza, Qatar Airways, Kenya Airways, Rwand Air, DHL, Burcont Logistics and NAGAFF.