• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Your social media footprint can deny you business, budding exporters told

Your social media footprint can deny you visa, budding exporters told

Newly registered exporters in the Port Harcourt zone have been warned to be mindful of the kind of things they say and the friends they keep on social media as such could cost them dearly.

Speaking in Port Harcourt recently, Ofon Udofia, an expert in export business and the executive secretary, Institute of Export Operations Management, said some persons have been denied visas to enter some countries because of what they said on Facebook and other social platforms.

He told the budding exporters that their social media footprint is liable to investigation during application for visa for business trips.

Udofia, who spoke during training for new exporters in Port Harcourt organised by the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC), urged them to be in touch with the world and make their companies present on the internet.

He reminded the new exporters that their social media records could deny them visa and customers in some parts of the world, saying, “Cut a clear identity and be consistent.”

On what a beginner needed to know about export, Udofia said, “Keep improving your product. Some products in Nigeria are over 150 years, but they are still in demand. This is because the manufacturers such as Nestle continue to improve on them.”

Read Also: NEPC sensitises Abia women entrepreneurs on export

He said they must be prepared to understudy others, describing apprenticeship as the bedrock of business in the South-East.

“You must be humble to understudy any business,” he said.

Udofia, who is seen in the Niger Delta as an esteemed exporter, export trainer, and hands-on teacher, said for anybody to be ready to export, the person must first conquer the fear of money, structure their business, get the buy-in of their spouse and children, belong to groups in order to integrate or look for business support institutions.

He made it clear that Nigeria’s greatest asset is its population, saying, “It gives you a platform to trade and test your product; it gives you huge or wide marketplace before looking for external markets.”

Udofia urged the new exporters to keep clear records that would attract financiers, saying no exporter can finance it fully. He however said loan processing in Ghana is far better than in Nigeria.

“They turn you down in a way you thank them for not giving you the money. They tell you what is wrong with your request, what more you need to do, what evil that can befall you and your business if you took wrong loan, etc,” he said.

He talked about cash and bank flow, saying some entrepreneurs have good cash flows which do not reflect in their bank transactions. He said an exporter must choose a product and make it strong and perfect.

Others who trained the beginners include Victoria Ozurumba, CEO of Avikar Global Resources, and Eric Alalibo, CEO of Sololia Nigeria Limited. The export desk official from UBA, Henry Ekwubiri, talked on export support facilities in the bank.

In his welcome address, Olusegun Awolowo, managing director/CEO of NEPC, urged the exporters to prepare to be challenged and inspired to do export business.

“Try to interact, network and share experiences among yourselves, but do not hesitate to ask questions, and offer practicable ideas to key issues that inhibit the growth of the non-oil export sector,” Awolowo said.

He said the NEPC, being a trade promotion organization established by the government to develop and promote non-oil export of products and services, deemed it expedient to bring newly registered exporters together for a sector-specific discourse.

The CEO, who was represented by Joe Itah, South-South coordinator, said the intention was to get newly registered exporters to understand the rudiments of export business, assess their level of practice, and make them export-ready, while at the same time fine-tuning other strategies to re-energize the exporters who have gone numb over time to become active once again.

“I venture to stress that this one-day interactive session is timely and invaluable, especially considering the state of economic despair which COVID-19 has visited on businesses across the whole world – damaging lives and economies.

“For most countries, Nigeria inclusive, dependency on oil as a major source of income is no more profitable to think of in the long run, hence the option to get more serious with developing non-oil exports as the second line of defense, and a clear strategy for economic diversification. This we must all join hands to achieve by making exporting seamless, simplifying processes, and exporting value-added products, as much as we can, in order to grasp a fair portion of international market share,” he said.