Islamic devt bank to boost export capabilities of 200 Nigerian SMEs, agripreneurs — Official
Produce Africa, an agribusiness hub sponsored by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), says it has concluded plans to train no fewer than 200 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and agri-entrepreneurs to boost their capabilities.
A statement issued on Sunday, in Abuja, by Aisha Waziri-Umar, Chief Executive Officer, iProduce Africa, said that the online training scheduled for Nov. 20 under the theme: ‘Accessing Non-Interest Finance for Agribusiness Exports’ would also aim to boost the operations of the SMEs and agri-entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Waziri-Umar added that the training was necessitated by the need to take advantage of the zero-oil economic diversification agenda of the Federal Government.
According to her, iProduce Africa, backed by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) would train the participants, especially young agri-entrepreneurs, on the requisite technical skills to enable them export their produce thereby integrating them into global food value chains.
“iProduce will also train the SMEs and agri-entrepreneurs on how to access finance, including non-interest funding for their export activities,” Waziri-Umar added.
She noted that agribusiness exports presented significant opportunities for job creation to absorb the youth and improve the livelihoods of young people, who make up the largest chunk of Nigeria’s population.
“We are forming partnerships with the relevant government ministries and agencies and I am confident that iProduce will play a vital role in the diversification of the Nigerian economy,” Waziri-Umar said.
She added that experts would be engaged by iProduce to train and advise the agri-entrepreneurs on how to take advantage of Nigeria’s non-interest banking windows, to secure financing for the export of high quality agricultural commodities.
“Since August 2021, when it was formally launched by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, iProduce Africa has trained 500 farmers on various areas of agribusiness.
“This included livestock, fruits and vegetables, garments, among others,’’ she said.
Waziri-Umar disclosed that iProduce Africa plans to train at least 1,000 agri-entrepreneurs in 2022 and support them with the relevant agribusiness advisory services.
iProduce Africa Agribusiness Hub is an initiative of Inara Foundation, a non-profit organisation, established to address development challenges in Nigeria.
The hub was set up as a direct response to the economic diversification agenda of the Federal Government, which seeks to wean the Nigerian economy from dependence on oil to agriculture as a major source of foreign exchange earnings.
