The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has urged exporters in Imo to take advantage of bank interventions for non-oil exports.
Executive Director of the NEPC, Dr Ezra Yakusak, said this at a one-day workshop on non-oil exports organised by the Council, in collaboration with Zenith Bank Group, in Owerri, on Thursday.
Yakusak, represented by NEPC’S Trade Promotion Advisor in Imo, Mr Anthony Ajuruchi, said that bank interventions were critical to the survival of businesses as a result of declining exchange rates.
He thanked Zenith Bank for their “culture of supporting export activities “, and pledged continued collaboration for business growth and sustenance.
” Nigeria is diversifying because we can no longer continue to rely on oil to boost our economy, going by current realities in the global market.
“ We are grateful to Zenith Bank for their continued commitment to the survival of the export business in Nigeria through many interventions, and we call on exporters to take advantage of these interventions “, he said.
Speaking on the theme: ‘Enhancing Non-oil Exports Exports Through Bank Intervention’, Zonal Head of Zenith Bank in Imo, Mr Charles Anyacho, expressed the bank’s readiness to provide support for export business.
He called on exporters to take advantage of the bank’s “Zero to Hero” programme, a training programme targeted at intending exporters as well as the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrower’s programme.
He said that the Federal Government’s Race To N200 billion Foreign Exchange (RT 200 FX) was an indication of Government’s commitment to Non-oil exports, and urged exporters to utilize all available incentives to grow their businesses.
The Co-ordinator of Imo Exporters League, His Royal Highness, Eze Emmanuel Eke, also called for realistic, sincere support for the export business from stakeholders, especially banks.
He urged exporters in Imo to remain resilient in their quest to grow their businesses and be able to compete with their counterparts in the global export market.