The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has trained and empowered selected 50 entrepreneurs on products packaging and branding in Oyo State.
The Director-General, SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, stated this on Thursday in Ibadan during the closing ceremony of a three-day capacity-building programme on products packaging and branding.
Odii, who was represented by SMEDAN Zonal Coordinator, South-West, Mr Olukayode Shode, said the training sought to build the capacity of local entrepreneurs on how to harness opportunities in African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA).
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the primary objective of the initiative is to equip the entrepreneurs with necessary packaging and branding skills to access benefits from the ACFTA.
“SMEDAN will continue to support the participants of the training with grants and extension services to increase the scope of their enterprises.
“The participants have been carefully selected from the SME database, MSME mass registration portal and business membership associations.
“The beneficiaries will also enjoy SMEDAN technical follow-up to ensure that the grants are appropriately used,” Odii said.
Also, the Oyo State Manager of SMEDAN, Mrs Iyabo Ojogbede, said the capacity-building programme seeks to empower the entrepreneurs on acceptable packaging and branding standards for international markets.
She said the training would add more value and income to Nigeria’s products in international markets for an improved Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In his lecture, the training lead facilitator, Mr Oluwaseyi Kayode, listed the needs of an effectively packaged product.
”It must entail proper products design, branding, good product logo and must meet up with international market regulations and requirements,” he said.
Kayode, a SMEDAN export development consultant, charged the participants to penetrate the African market with local products like fabrics, local beauty products, local foods and spices to boost Nigeria’s economy.
One of the participants, Mrs Ifeoluwa Ayomide, lauded SMEDAN for organising the capacity-building event.
She noted that the training was impactful and would make local entrepreneur products compete favourably in the international market through good packaging.
Ayomide added that the training would encourage eco-friendly products and boost the non-oil exports campaign of the Federal Government.
Another participant, Mr Oluwole Ojetunde, said the training had exposed him to better ways to protect his brand through copyright and other necessary registrations.
NAN reports that 50 participants drawn from the 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state received training certificates and were supported with grants to expand their businesses.