NEPC moves to close knowledge gap among young entrepreneurs

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has intensified efforts to close the knowledge gap that exists among young entrepreneurs in the country.

NEPC said the council is determined to consolidate on the remarkable contribution of the non-oil export sector to the Nigerian GDP in the preceding year.

Speaking while launching the Students Training Entrepreneurship Export Programme (STEP-X) to help galvanise the energy of the youths, who constitute over 60 per cent of the Nigerian population, into productive ventures, the Executive Director, Nonye Ayeni, explained that the training programme is designed to equip students with entrepreneurship and export skills and certifications to enable them to participate in the entire export value chain.

Ayeni stated that the training programme, otherwise known as STEP-X, with the theme “From Campus to Global Market: Empowering Nigerian Students for Non-oil Export and Global Entrepreneurship”, will be replicated across the six geopolitical zones.

She said the youths are not only the future but the drivers of tomorrow’s economy and could therefore be used as agents of change and strong influencers in shaping the economy of the country.

The Executive Director acknowledged the energy, passion and resilience of Nigerian students across the campuses. According to her, young Nigerians are developing businesses, products and ideas in agriculture, agro-processing, fashion and textiles, technology, creative industries and digital services.

According to a statement by Aliu Seidu Sadiq, the council noted that “many of these businesses are not taking into consideration of the opportunities that exist in the export sector because of limited knowledge of the international market, export procedures, documentation, quality and standards as well as certifications.

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The statement said the Executive Director explained further that the STEP-X programme would address these knowledge gaps and make export seamless in order to encourage the youths desirous of venturing into the export business.

“This is why we came up with the theme: ‘From Campus to Global market’. Our goal is to make the journey from hostel room or a campus workshop to the international market shorter, clearer and achievable.

“More than 250 students drawn from institutions of higher learning in Lagos and Ogun states participated in the maiden edition of the Students Training Entrepreneurship Export Programme which also attracted the participation of the leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the Zonal representatives from some key institutions” the statement stated.