The African Union (AU) says it plans to increase Africa’s global trade to 20% from the current 2% it represents.
The African Union Director of Industry, Minerals, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Mrs Ron Osman, said this when she led a delegation from the AU Empowered African Network on a tour of the Lelook Bags Academy in Abuja, Nigeria.
With a population of about 250 million Nigerians, the AU wants Nigeria to take its share in the global trade, which is presently not the case.
The AU Director solicited support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which represent 90% to 95% of businesses in Africa.
“So, supporting MSMEs is supporting businesses on the continent. It is creating jobs; it is creating wealth, and it is taking us towards the Africa we want. Agenda 2063 is for us to be prosperous before 2063. So, Nigeria, you are doing well, but we are targeting 20% of global trade,” she reaffirmed.
Mrs Osman noted that the AU created free movement of goods when it started working on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with its Secretariat in Accra, Ghana.
“So, free movement of goods is not, or almost no more, a bottleneck in Africa, but what is now a bottleneck is to produce the goods that we will sell among ourselves because we are still lagging behind in manufacturing, adding value, going to production. That is why we are working to enhance the capacity of African businesses to produce more, to sell more,” she said.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mrs Nonye Ayeni, commended the Lelook Bags Academy for its dedication to empowering micro, small and medium enterprises with the tools, training, and platforms they need to thrive, not just locally but globally.
Ayeni who was represented by the NEPC’s Deputy Director of Product Development, Mr Macpherson Ileogben, said the Council is always ready for strategic partnerships.
“We are reimagining what non-oil export diversification looks like: placing fashion and craftsmanship at the heart of economic empowerment; we are investing in people, especially women, youths, and, of course, people with special needs because when they succeed, the nation as a whole will succeed,” said Ileogben, speaking about the Effort Skills Acquisition Centre of the Council.
“We deeply appreciate the African Union’s continued support in promoting inclusive growth through MSMEs, and we are honoured,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Lelook Bags Academy, Chinwe Ezenwa, said the Academy has trained over one thousand (1,000) people free of charge in bag and shoes production as a means of empowerment and job creation.
“We are already in the business of empowering people through production and skills acquisition. We are training people here free. We also have people who are supported by UNDP, UNFPA, NEPC, and by my humble self, free of charge, in Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu.
And, if you don’t produce, you cannot sell and you can’t give what you don’t have. So, we need to grow an army of people to face the African Free Continental Trade,” said Mrs Ezenwa.