…to formalise exports of one million footwears
The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) will on Thursday teach and expose artisans in the finished leather sector, comprising shoe, belt and bag makers as well as tailors in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, on how to formalise and go about exports of locally- made goods to the international market.
The one-day clinic entitled “Financing initiatives for expansion and growth of non-oil export: Prospects and Challenges”, also aims at educating the artisans on how to raise funds to boost their businesses.
It is estimated that about one-million pairs of footwear leaves Aba to Cameroon and other African countries, weekly. However, these exports are not captured, by the Nigerian Customers Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), because they are carried out unofficially or illegally.
Consequently, officials of the Nigerian Customs and the Bank of Industry (BoI) will be on hand to enlighten the artisans on how to get cheap funds, as well as the gains of going through the right channels to export their products.
Obinna Ofurum, an assistant director and head, operations, South-East directorate of NSC, said that the artisans would be educated on the available credit facilities and the requirements for accessing such facilities and loans, as well as how to use such facilities to boost their businesses.
He explained also that the clinic would help the artisans to build managerial capacity to be able to compete favourably with their global counterparts in the international market , as well as the ability to identify, evaluate and control hazards that pose risk of repaying their loans.
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