Capacity Building for Trade Associations

Associated resources
This is the report from a feasibility study conducted on the possibility of constructing a border post and associated infrastructure at Saki West, Oyo State. Conducted in 2012 and funded by FCDO Nigeria Policy Development Facility (FCDO-PDF).
With the global COVID-19 pandemic came the need for local manufacturers to step up to the challenge and produce face masks, face shields, and PPEs due to dwindling supplies caused by high demand the world over. The support provided by government agencies to these entrepreneurs was critical, this in turn was derived from the technical advice supplied by the PDF Bridge programme under the Trade Policy Workstream through dialogues, studies, and roundtable events. The workstream focuses on non-oil exports by bringing underrepresented voices into economic policy and strengthening the participation of exporter groups in trade. The workstream engaged with representatives of Abia State Government during its dialogues particularly with the Director-General of the Abia State Marketing and Quality Management Agency (ASMQMA). This engagement led to increased capacity and redirection of strategy for the Aba Textile cluster in the production and distribution of finished goods. With help from the State Government’s agency on quality and standardization, Abia State Marketing and Quality Management Agency (ASMQMA), tailors generated an estimated $4-5million for the Nigerian economy from Abia State alone from the production of PPEs. This created a 110% increase in tailoring personnel.
A roundtable event on the potentials of exporting the services sector in Nigeria. At the Roundtable, it was noted that among business owners and exporters, there is little understanding of what services export entails. Many businesses engage in service exports but are not aware of this. Understanding the four modes of services – Cross border trade, Consumption abroad, Commercial presence, and Presence of natural persons – is important for business growth. To achieve this, stakeholders including the NEPC will need to conduct capacity building and sensitisation workshops for exporters, working with relevant business associations.
Continuous and consistent implementation of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) has been identified as crucial to the diversification agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). Despite its importance, however, the programme has experienced various implementation challenges and, at least, three suspensions since inception. The aim of this study is to provide evidence-based information on EEG implementation to guide relevant stakeholders to reform and reposition the scheme for greater effectiveness. The study aims to specifically analyse the impact of the grant on the beneficiaries prior to suspension in 2013 and the post-suspension implementation from 2017. It also investigates the challenges faced by beneficiaries in their attempts to access the grant. The study applied both primary through survey and secondary data through desk review to address the set objectives of the study. The survey was conducted through three methods: (i) administration of questionnaires, (ii) Key informant interviews (KII), and (iii) focused group discussions (FGD).
This report presents a market analysis of the 22 identified products of the Zero-oil initiative providing a comprehensive analysis on the export potentials, key markets, existing value chain, and quality requirements of six (6) key products namely; Soya, sugar, rubber, leather, cocoa beans, and ginder.