November 21, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government on Monday inaugurated the ‘Export4Survival’ campaign to boost the country’s non-oil export.
The initiative is a flagship theme of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), aimed at sensitising the business community on inherent benefits in the non-oil export sector.
It is also geared toward driving economic diversification through the export of non-oil products and services.
Flagging off the campaign, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, said the launch of the campaign is an official endorsement of the initiative to stimulate the consciousness of all Nigerians to the realities of our time.
He said the diversification of the productive base of the economy is key to employment generation, wealth creation, and poverty reduction in Nigeria.
While urging Nigerians to embrace the non–oil export initiative, Adebayo expressed hope that the campaign would be a game changer in Nigeria’s socio-economic space.
“The ‘Export4Survival’ campaign should therefore be embraced by stakeholders.
“The business community, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), trade associations, and the organised private sector should embrace it as a brand that will be a game changer in the socio-economic space of our national development.
“As part of efforts at creating awareness on non-oil export development and promotion activities of the council, there is no gainsaying the fact that with the Export4Survival campaign, significant mileage would be gained in the volume and value of exported Nigerian products and services.
“It is also envisaged that with the launch of this campaign, more activities would be seen to be taking place in the non-oil export ecosystem that would increase foreign exchange earnings into Nigeria”, he said.
Earlier, the Executive Director of NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak, said that the event signalled the beginning of a commitment to reposition the operational activities of the council’s mandate to develop and promote the non-oil export sector.
Describing the non-oil export sector as a key driver of the Federal Government’s diversification agenda, Yakusak said, “We at the NEPC, believe that our vision to make the world a marketplace for Nigerian non-oil products is very key in rejuvenating our fragile economy. However, this cannot be achieved by the council alone.
“It is against this background that we conceived the Export4Survival campaign as part of a strategic initiative to increase the awareness of opportunities in the sector and the benefits of exporting Nigerian goods and services to the overall growth of the economy. The idea is to stimulate Nigerians to imbibe the export culture.
“I wish to reiterate that the campaign is a patriotic call on all Nigerians to realise the urgency of engaging in non-oil export trade as a viable means of economic growth, industrial development, and boosting our foreign exchange earnings.
“This rebranding exercise is germane to realising our mandate as a Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO) as well as repositioning the council for better performance.
“This is premised on the fact that over the years the NEPC has undertaken series of branding activities from ‘We Grow At Home, To Sell Abroad’ to ‘Export Business, Tomorrow Business’ and now to the current campaign, ‘Export4Survival’.
“The unique proposition of the present campaign underlines our resolve to change the narrative and position the non-oil sector as the only means of surviving as a nation.’’
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