NEPC to Launch Women in Exports Initiative.

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says it will soon launch a new platform that would harness the unique potentials of women in the export business.

The Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, Mr Segun Awolowo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday that the initiative became necessary because more women were into small scale businesses.According to him, a research by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) showed that exports rely mainly on products from rural cottage industries.

We (NEPC) have 60 per cent of the people who fall in that category of production to be women.

In view of this, the NEPC will be launching Women in Exports Initiative early this year.

The main aim of the initiative is to bring together our women into small scale production in the rural and urban settlement on to the global scene.

“NEPC intends to do this by providing a platform that would encourage them to produce items that will meet international standards,” Awolowo said.

Besides, the NEPC chief said the council would establish six new borders and collection centres nationwide and in Niger Republic.

He noted that the high incidence of informal trade had robbed the government of huge revenue, especially in the last three years.

The launching of the centres, he said, would take place later in the year.

He added that the nation would improve more on non-oil export in 2016 because efforts were on to further standardise commonly rejected Nigerian exports. (Punch)