For decades, Nigeria’s economic fortunes have been disproportionately tied to crude oil, leaving the country vulnerable to volatile global prices, production disruptions and external shocks. But as President Bola Tinubu’s administration pursues an economic reset under the Renewed Hope Agenda, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council is increasingly positioning non-oil exports as a practical pathway to a broader, more resilient economy, James Emejo writes. If anything, the significance of NEPC ’s interventions goes beyond taking Nigerian products to foreign markets. From supporting women-led businesses and training thousands of prospective exporters to developing agricultural clusters, securing international certifications, opening markets and tackling export rejections, the council is building the infrastructure around the export economy. Its emerging strategy is clear: diversify what Nigeria produces, increase what it sells to the world, create jobs along the value chain and bring more foreign exchange into the economy. That is the real economic story behind NEPC’s activities. The country’s diversification challenge had never simply been about producing more agricultural commodities. The bigger challenge had been converting the country’s enormous productive capacity into internationally competitive goods and services that can earn sustainable foreign exchange – giving NEPC an important mandate in this regard. Established in 1976 as the federal government’s apex institution for developing and promoting non-oil exports, the Council has a mandate that sits directly at the heart of the administration’s diversification ambitions. Its responsibility spans export development, promotion of export-related industries, creation of appropriate incentives and implementation of government export policies and programmes. In practical terms, this means moving Nigeria from a country that primarily exports raw materials to one that can increasingly produce, process, certify, package and market goods for international consumers. That transition is already visible in the Council’s interventions across agriculture, manufacturing, MSMEs, women entrepreneurship, skills development and international market access. To further deliver on the mandate, the presidency announced the appointment of Mrs. Nonye Ayeni as Executive Director/Chief Executive of NEPC in October 2023 in an effort to further reposition the non-oil export sector as a stronger pillar of economic growth. Her appointment came at a critical juncture in the country’s economic transition, with the Tinubu administration seeking to move the country beyond its longstanding dependence on crude oil and unlock new sources of foreign exchange, jobs and growth. Building an Export Pipeline One of the strongest arguments for NEPC’s role in economic diversification is the breadth of its interventions. From 2023 to date, the Council has conducted 1,983 capacity-building programmes involving 215,156 participants across the country. The scale is significant because successful exporting requires more than having a product. Entrepreneurs need to understand documentation, standards, pricing, logistics, international payment systems, market intelligence, packaging and the regulatory requirements of destination markets. Under Ayeni, NEPC’s capacity-building programmes therefore address a critical weakness in Nigeria’s export ecosystem: the shortage of export-ready businesses. The Council’s Export Mentorship Programme takes that intervention further by connecting prospective exporters with established practitioners. The pilot began with five performing exporters serving as mentors and 20 prospective exporters as mentees, with 15 mentees completing the programme. The underlying strategy is commercially important: rather than simply teaching exporters the theory of international trade, NEPC is attempting to transfer practical knowledge from existing exporters to new entrants. The objective is ultimately to enlarge the pool of Nigerian businesses capable of earning foreign exchange. New Export Economy Perhaps one of the clearest examples of how NEPC is aligning its work with a modern export economy is its role in the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund. The $50 million initiative, launched by the World Trade Organisation and International Trade Centre, seeks to bridge financing and digital gaps confronting women-led businesses in developing economies. NEPC’s selection as the only African Business Support Organisation under the initiative, out of 610 applications globally, is significant. More striking was Nigeria’s response. The Council mobilised more than 68,000 applications from women-led businesses across the six geopolitical zones, making Nigeria t
Don't miss out on breaking stories and in-depth articles.
