Lagos, Sept. 11, 2023: African Export Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK) has called on federal and state governments, private sector to foster the participation of the Nigerian business community in the 2023 Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mrs Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, AFREXIMBANK, made the call at the Nigeria IATF High Level Business Roadshow on Monday in Lagos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IATF2023, scheduled for Nov. 9 to Nov. 15, in Egypt, is organised by AFREXIM, African Union Commission and the Africa Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event is a platform for businesses to access an integrated African market of over 1.3 billion people with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over 3.5 trillion dollars created under the AfCFTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NAN also reports that the event will comprise trade exhibition, trade and investment forum, across many sectors of the African economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They include agriculture and agro-processing, clothing and textiles, creative industries, manufacturing, engineering, logistics, tourism, construction, education, mining, technology, transport and many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Awani said that event provided the opportunity for Nigerian businesses to access an integrated African market, expand their businesses and promote Intra-African trade, providing real gains for the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that the roadshow would provide critical information on the IATF, its relevance to Africa\u2019s transformation and integration ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to her, it will also provide opportunities for Nigerian businesses to expand their footprint across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRecent global events such as COVID-19 have exposed Africa\u2019s continued exposure and vulnerability to the dictates of external partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPerhaps the key demonstration of ensuring that we take our collective destiny into our own hands is the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe AfCFTA is a clear signal of the political will and desire to reverse the trend of external reliance and commodity dependence and to ensure that as a continent we take our economic destiny into our own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is for the success of the AfCFTA that the IATF and several other initiatives have been developed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Awani, however, noted that the biggest constraints confronting intra-African trade was the issue of information asymmetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to her, there was unawareness of the trade and investment opportunities that exist among each other, yet we are more aware of those that exist outside the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that to overcome this dearth of trade and market information and support the implementation of the AfCFTA, AFREXIM and other strategic partners launched the Intra-African Trade Fair in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She noted that the IATF had now emerged as the premier trade and investment event in Africa and the biggest platform for African public and private sector interactions in one gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe African Union Summit in 2023 approved the theme for the year \u201cAcceleration of the Implementation of the AfCFTA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBuilding on this success of the two previous editions, IATF2023 promises to be even bigger and better and will again provide an opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their goods and services, engage in Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Government (B2G) exchanges, and conclude business deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe anticipate that IATF will generate intra-African trade and investment deals worth over $43 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPreparations and mobilisation effort for IATF2023 are on course and we are poised to attract more than 1,600 exhibitors from over 75 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe also expect over 35,000 participants from all African countries and rest of the world, including the diaspora,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Ezra Yakusak, Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), said the IATF served as a critical platform to shore up Intra-African trade from 18 per cent to a more reasonable level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yakusak noted that participants at previous IATFs forged alliances and increased Nigeria\u2019s export performance by several millions of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the NEPC, in collaboration with many associations such as Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and others, were committed to providing trainings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This, he said, would improve quality, drive value addition, certifications of Nigerian goods and services at the IATF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expectations of Nigeria is high and must take advantage of the platform to showcase agriculture, fashion, manufacturing, and other sectors to attract trade into the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s however the need for massive awareness, sensitisation to enable more participation at the fair,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lagos, Sept. 11, 2023: African Export Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK) has called on federal and state governments, private sector to foster the participation of the Nigerian business community in the 2023 Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023). Mrs Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, AFREXIMBANK, made the call at the Nigeria IATF High Level Business Roadshow on Monday in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1366,241],"tags":[281],"class_list":["post-52820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-foreign","tag-afreximbank","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\n