Opportunities exist for African entrepreneurs looking to export to Canada

Director of Africa Canada Trade Investment Venture, Kenneth Oguzie, says there are numerous opportunities existing for African entrepreneurs looking to export goods and services to Canada.

Oguzie made this statement during his visit as a guest speaker to The Next Titan reality TV show house to encourage the contestants and speak about foreign trade and export.

Oguzie in the statement challenged entrepreneurs to take advantage of some of the opportunities available to them to promote and ultimately sell their products to Canadian consumers, which could be finished or semi-finished goods.

He remarked that extensive market research to understand the needs of the market segment, which the contestants plan to target and develop products and services that suit their taste and preference.

He dwelt on the importance of standardisation of packaging and product quality to ensure the products met the quality standards set by the Nigerian export promotion agencies as well as the Canada Border service Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

According to Oguzie, the concern of standardisation has been a challenge for small-scale exporters, especially in terms of obtaining adequate documentation required for processing, and advised the contestants to utilise the support agencies in Nigeria to help them understand some of the requirements.

Oguzie, who is also a global trade analyst and recently won the Most Distinguished Nigerian in Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canada, also spoke about his organisation and said the company could support the entrepreneurs by connecting them to potential buyers and ensure the transaction process was as seamless as possible, as well as coordinating the whole process.

He encouraged the contestants to stay up to date with global market trends to ensure their products and services easily adapt to new trends and standards.

Reacting to his statements, Catherine Agbo, one of the contestants, asked if the NAFDAC registration was a very important requirement in packaging and branding of the products to be exported for sales.

Another contestant, Hafes Hilda mentioned the fact that a lot of Nigerians are being denied visa access which makes it difficult to go there and do some feasibility studies as well as understanding the market they are trying to penetrate.