NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 16, 2021 21:16:24 GMT 1
3 Lessons That Will Help You Survive Your First Year In Business
The first year of any business is usually very critical and challenging. However, there are systems and procedures you need to follow if you must survive it.
Starting your own business with enthusiasm and nostalgia is normal as you want to show the world the stuff you are made of. There are some things you need to know that will make the journey easy for you to scale through the first year.
From my over 25 years’ experience in both the corporate world and private business, there are three things or lessons I have learnt that can become a game changer for any new businessman any day.
Forget About Perfection And Focus On Finding Your Customers
The brutal truth that makes a business fail easily whether in its first year or later is when there are no more customers who want to buy your goods or services.
Take a look at it deeply, if customers are no more coming to patronize the company, it means that the products will just be left there, and funds will stop coming into the company.
But if you can concentrate on finding customers, making them happy, the imperfection in other things can be sorted out with time.
It is important to know that you may not be the cause of the drought in customers, it can be caused by downturn in the economy; in this case you have to do all within your power to get customers to continue coming.
If customers stop coming, no matter the cause, the business will die. With this in mind, your first year in business should be the time for you to find communities of people who will be willing to buy your products or services.
Don’t wait to create a perfect product or service before you start locating your ideal customer base. Once you are able to locate your customers, you are in strong starting position and you can then start fine-tuning your strategies from there.
Control Your Cash Flow
Another reason why businesses fail in their first year is when they run out of cash. There is nothing you can do without cash. Therefore, managing your cash-flow is very crucial for your business survival.
You need to manage your cash inflow and expenses too, so that the business will last long enough to get more cash; you need to adopt a highly conservative approach in handling cash in the business.
You should start implementing a good cash-flow management system to help you in tracking funds going out and coming in. Understand the difference between cashflow and profit as this will guide you in managing your funds.
Check your credit sales and credit purchases; the length of time given to your debtors to pay up and the time given to you by your creditors to pay them; be sure you strike a balance.
Remember that there are expenses you cannot postpone, those that you must incur on daily basis. Take calculated decisions; avoid taking actions that can be left in future when your customer base increases.
Always Be calm, Calculated And Take The Next Step
Anybody that had ever run a business and survived the first year will tell that the first year is always a time that you will be tempted to panic. Maybe your new product has not taken the momentum you expected, a person or staff you believe is critical to the survival of the business resigns; or even some heavy expenses you did not contemplate turns up.
All these listed above are really serious, but be rest assured that they are typical of every new business and you can weather the storm gracefully.
The best thing to do is to remain calm and listen to your instincts and take the next calculated steps.
When you take your time to navigate through all these challenges in your first year, which is usually the toughest, you will discover strength and more experience to deal with future years to come.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 15, 2021 17:30:12 GMT 1
Bank Of Industry (BOI): Things You Must Know About The Bank’s Loans – Part 1
The Nigerian Bank of Industry (BOI), which is also known as Bank of Industry Limited, is the oldest and largest Development Finance Institution currently operating in Nigeria as at 2021.
According to Wikipedia, The Bank is owned jointly by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Nigeria, The Central Bank of Nigeria and some private shareholders.
It was founded in October 2001. The Managing Director is Olukayode Pitan, while the Chairman is Aliyu Abdulrahman with eleven members on the board.
One basic thing you need to know about the Bank of Industry is that it targets the Industrial Sector of Nigerian economy.
Different other banks target different sectors of the economy according to the mandate that set them up; Bank of Industry (BOI) in Nigeria is setup primarily to cater for the industrial sector.
Having this at the back of your mind, you need to know some things about how to access the Bank’s loans as SME.
The Bank of Industry is set up to encourage and grow a vibrant industrial production and value creation by manufacturing and processing activities of businesses in Nigeria.
The main idea is to provide the industrial sector with the required finance and business support services that they will need to succeed in their ventures.
The Bank targets the following sub-sectors:
Agricultural and Agro-allied businesses
Solid minerals
Oil and Gas
Manufacturing
Any other business that operates in any of the above value chains and uses EQUIPMENT to carry out processes that add value.
Please note that the Bank of Industry does not finance the following:
Raw materials
Working capital
Lands and buildings
The bank is setup primarily to finance industrial equipment; therefore if you are in the agricultural sector, and you are a primary agricultural producer, like a farmer; the Bank of Industry can help you finance the following equipment:
Tractors
Combine harvesters
Dryers
Freezers
Or any other type of equipment you need to be successful in producing your goods.
How Does The Bank Of Industry Disburse The Funds To The Industrialists?
Please note carefully, the bank does not disburse the loan to the borrower directly, but rather to the seller of the equipment that the loan is intended to be used to finance.
Look at it this way, the Bank of Industry will not give the loan amount to you directly; rather the money will be given to the company that will be selling to you the equipment you want to buy after passing through some procedures.
Before paying the vendor, the Bank will go through the following procedures:
The Bank will carry out all necessary and reasonable due diligence to be sure that the quotation from the vendor is genuine
It will ensure that the price quoted for the equipment is reasonable for the type of equipment you want to buy
The Bank will want to take all reasonable steps to make sure that the equipment you want to buy is value for money. Not that you will go and connive with a fraudulent vendor to supply you with fake machines
The Bank will encourage you to see if you can source the equipment from local manufacturers like Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) before going through importation. As this will guarantee availability of spare parts and prompt servicing when the need will arise.
It is important for you to understand that the Bank of Industry (BOI) does not re-finance plant and equipment. What does this mean? It means that if you had bought some equipment previously with a loan, maybe the loan is too expensive; and now you want to re-finance it at a lower cost through the Bank of Industry, no, the Bank of Industry (BOI) cannot help you even if the loan was used to finance plant and equipment.
In our subsequent articles in this series we are will continue to look at things you need to know about accessing loans from Bank of Industry (BOI) and other Financial Institutions.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 15, 2021 17:07:36 GMT 1
Why Are Nigerian Agro-Food Exporters Still Having Problems With Food Exports In 2021?It is on record that The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Unveiled Global Certification For Food Exports in May 2019. Why is it that the country is still having problems exporting our food products to EU and the USA? The international market is still officially rejecting agro-foods from Nigeria in 2021. The country really needs to look deeply into this problem as farmers and exporters are suffering due to this problem. Most countries in Africa are not having these impediments when it comes to their crops and food products being accepted in the international market. In 2019, The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Segun Awolowo drew the attention of exporters to the certification that is needed to export food products to the global market. The certification, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), is what is required to penetrate the international market for processed value-added products, particularly food items, according to The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Segun Awolowo. This information was revealed to exporters and other stakeholders during a one-day awareness training programme on HACCP in Lagos. The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Segun Awolowo who was then represented by the Director Product Development Department, NEPC, Mr. William Ezeagu, stressed the competitive nature of the international market. He then explained to the participants that to compete, their exportable food products must acquire additional non-mandatory certifications. He explained to the participants comprising of exporters and stakeholders that “Non-mandatory certifications, for example: ISO, HACCP, Good Manufacturing Practices, etc.) are global certifications that are trusted by consumers and end-users of products and services, and are attained based on the reputation of the certifying bodies”. He said that the HACCP system is science-based and systematic; it identifies specific hazards and measures for their control to ensure the safety of food. He revealed that “HACCP is a tool to assess hazards and establish control systems that focus on prevention rather than relying mainly on end-product testing. “HACCP is important because it prioritizes and controls potential hazards in the food processes. This helps by controlling major food risks such as microbiological, chemical and physical contaminants. This will help the industry to better assure consumers that its products are safe and as good as science and technology allow”. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) also listed the advantages of the HACCP and other food safety certifications to include: Compliance with customer and applicable regulatory requirements An effective quality system recognition Provision of competitive advantage Improvement in product and company’s image Enhancing the reputation of the company, and Increased revenue generation through increased sales A global certification body, Indian-based TopCertifier was engaged to train selected food processors and exporters on the HACCP Certification. Also in April 2021, as part of its commitment to boost trade relationship with Nigeria, the Italian Trade Agency unveiled its training programme for entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector of the economy. The Agency Director for West Africa, Alessandro Gerbino, said that the agency had unveiled an E-Lab Innova in Nigeria. He said that the E-Lab Innova is an educational training programme for the Agri-food sector in Nigeria, which would be implemented in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and other partners. The Director said that the training is aimed at increasing the technical and managerial skills of Nigerian Agri-food companies in order to support their access to European Union (EU) markets and foster business partnerships with Italian companies. Our question in this forum still remains: After all these programmes and many more we did not list here, why is it that Nigeria has not still solved the problem of rejection of agricultural food products by the EU and the US. Stay with us as we will go all out to get the main problem militating against the progress in our agro-food industry in Nigeria.This topic is very important to us in this company; the reason is that it is the only way that Nigeria can achieve greatness in the agricultural commodities export. We are committed to helping farmers and exporters learn strategies to be used in solving this problem that has refused to be solved. Stay with us for regular updates.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 14, 2021 0:06:05 GMT 1
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 12, 2021 23:30:46 GMT 1
The CBN gave a directive on the 3rd of July 2019 compelling Nigerian Banks to maintain a Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) of 60%, though there had been more increases since then; wherein SMEs, Retail, Mortgage and consumer lending would be assigned a 150% weight in the computation of this LDR.
This directive has since brought life back to the SMEs and other such enterprises in ways and methods they access funds from financial institutions in Nigeria.
In order to avoid sanctions from the CBN in case of non-compliance with the directive, more commercial banks are now focusing on retail and SMEs to meet up with the quota.
Since this directive came into effect, the mass market where the small scale businesses and the like play has been bombarded by the Nigeria’s financial institutions jostling with Microfinance Banks , Fintechs, looking for retail and SMEs customers.
They now try to outdo themselves with mouthwatering rates and easy to meet conditions for loans as others are ready to come into the deal at any time.
This is really good news for the mass market as these low ladder customers couldn’t have qualified for such loans if it were to be in the past.
However, we all know that banks and other financial institutions were established to make profit and to safeguard the interest of their stakeholders.
In order to achieve this, they need to apply best credit practices when giving out any amount of money to anybody as loans. Therefore, they can only extend credit or loan to only those whose financial records show green, which is safe for the bank to put their money in your hands.
Let us look at a few ways you can increase your chances of being considered or for you to qualify for loan from your bank.
The first step is to consolidate your banking activities.
It is a general belief among individuals running SMEs in Nigeria that it pays to have accounts in more than one bank. If you check some companies, you will discover that they have opened accounts in as much as 5 (five) banks.
They claim that these accounts serve different purposes, yes it may be true, but as far as those accounts relate to your business, it pays you better to consolidate your banking activities in your favorite bank.
When banks want to evaluate your financial records for the purpose of lending your company money, they will look at the turnover your business has generated over a period of time.
For simplicity sake, presenting one bank statement for evaluating your company’s turnover will make work easier for the bank officer going through your records; your turnover will be the best you can produce and your chances of landing that loan is higher.
What is your credit status with your banks or other financial institutions?
For you to qualify for any loan in Nigeria today, you must make sure that you do not have outstanding loans anywhere with any financial institution in Nigeria.
If you have, go and clear that loan first before you start making plans to apply for a new one. Go through all your records; obtain all your banks’ outstanding balances and be sure that there is no debit balance in any of them.
Financial institutions love customers with good character, those with the habit of settling their debit balances often.
Financial institutions do not forget loans, even if they have written them off, they will still remember when the time comes.
Pay attention to your turnover and average balance
When the bank is talking about turnover, what they mean is total amount that passes through a customer’s account within a period of time, say one year or one month. But the daily overnight balance is the total of all the daily overnight balances divided by the number of days under review.
It is true that credit officers usually dwell on turnover much, but a well-grounded credit officer knows that average balance is also important. Average daily balance shows your available capital daily and cannot be manipulated, it is built over time.
Separate your personal transactions from those of the company
Most owners of SMEs usually lump together personal and company transactions together, thereby confusing credit officers; you must show calculations of how you came about the balance in the statement you are presenting to the bank credit officer.
These are some of the basic issues you need to be aware of before making application for loan from your financial institution.
Stay with us as we are coming with more ways you can prepare yourself better to pre-qualify for loans from Nigerian Financial Institutions.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 12, 2021 23:19:43 GMT 1
Here Is The Reason Why The Quality Of Nigerian Home-Grown Rice Is Poor
Rice is more than a staple food in Nigeria if there is anything more than staple; rice is eaten by almost everybody and every tribe in the country.
The product is eaten and enjoyed very well in the country; there is hardly any occasion involving food in the country that rice will not form a part of the menu. Nigerian children love eating rice, and that is why parents take their time to shop for rice to satisfy them always.
In the time past, farming of rice in Nigeria was done by few persons at subsistence level and that made it very expensive as it was consumed by the rich and at periods of celebration like Christmas and other important celebrations.
In our next article we are going to start a series of how to start rice farming in the profitable way; but in this article we are looking at why the quality of Nigerian home-grown rice has the reputation of poor quality.
To increase the worth of agricultural commodities, you need to process those commodities further in order to increase their commercial values. Processing transforms them from the basic or raw state to a more appealing state thereby increasing their market value.
When it comes to rice, processing is a very important aspect in the production cycle; this is the process that changes the paddy rice into the edible rice you enjoy.
I remember vividly when I was processing rice with my parents in the early seventies; we were using completely crude methods from the beginning to the end of the production cycle. The only thing that looked like mechanization was the milling machine.
I was too young then to actually look into the fabrication of the machine to note the components as children were not allowed to go near the machine for fear of industrial accident.
The major reason why the quality of our rice is poor is because our processing techniques are inefficient and poor. This problem has contributed to the high cost of production and subsequently to high cost of the commodity.
Yes it is true that there is a great improvement in rice production in Nigeria as production has risen to as high as about 9 million metric tonnes from 2 million metric tonnes two years ago; but the processing is still done crudely in the rural communities.
The polished rice you see in the market today is produced mainly by big companies supported by government with modern technologies; but about 80% of local rice produced in Nigeria comes from small scale processors with a capacity of less than 100 metric tonnes.
The small scale processors are faced with financial difficulties that limit their ability to purchase modern rice processing equipment.
You have been seeing our local rice everywhere; it is the brand of rice that you can buy at a cheaper rate than the imported brands.
The processing of rice involves washing and parboiling raw paddy to soften the husk, then drying and milling before sales or distribution to bulk buyers.
After milling, no matter how efficient you were in washing the raw rice, there must be some tiny stones left in the rice. This is where de-stoners come in to play, it makes local rice more appealing to buyers and consumers alike; but majority of the small scale producers cannot afford the equipment.
Most of the small scale rice processors do not have adequate processing capacity; choice of equipment contributes to a large extent the quality of rice the processor will produce and bring to the market.
Though small scale rice processors can now organize themselves into cooperatives to enable them present formidable representation to financiers and other financial institutions that can finance the right equipment that will enable them produce high quality rice in Nigeria; the government still needs to come to their rescue.
Stay with us as we bring to you more articles on farming and agro-exports. Don’t forget that we train exporters, both new and experienced exporters at our training centre in Nigeria. Contact the admin of this forum for more information about our training schedules and other details.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 12, 2021 22:50:17 GMT 1
How To Start Lucrative Tiger Nut Farming Business In Nigeria – Part 2This is the part 2 of the article ‘How to Start Lucrative Tiger Nut Farming Business in Nigeria’. In the part 1 we dealt with the general issues concerning tiger nut, its importance and some of the nutritional properties. Tiger nut is a crop of the Sedge family found in almost all parts of the world. Its botanical name is Cyperus esculentus; known in Yoruba as Ofio, in Hausa as Aya, and Aki Hausa or Imumu in Igbo language. We also discussed how to prepare the land for the cultivation of tiger nut. If you are going into large scale tiger nut farming, you probably be thinking of using about an hectare of arable land; you have to use tractor as we always advise our members to till the ground. Tiger nut plants can resist harsh weather conditions like, drought, flooding and heat. They however require a PH level of 5.0-7.0. Never plant your tiger nuts in a waterlogged area or use salt water for irrigation. These are not required as they can easily destroy the plants. In this article we are going to continue from where we stopped in part 1. Irrigation In Tiger Nut Farming: One of the major problems of farming in Nigeria is irrigation, so that your tiger nut farm can do well, you must irrigate or water your farm at least weekly until the crops are harvested; especially when there is drought or intense heat. Weeding The Farm: Although tiger nuts are very rigid and dominating in the environment, some stubborn weeds can weaken their performance. Weeds should never be allowed in the tiger nut farm. You must identify the weeds and remove them early; otherwise they will destroy your tiger nut farm. Manure Application: When you want to apply manure, you should not use manure that is high in nitrogen especially when the nuts have started forming. Nitrogen can prevent the forming of the seeds. Also low temperature, light intensity can inhibit the flowering of tiger nut plants. Please ensure that general good practices in farming are applied too in tiger nut farming. Harvesting of Tiger Nuts: Tiger nuts are supposed to be planted between April and May; therefore it should be harvested between November and December of the same year, which is 8 months. Usually the plant is hard and well rooted in the soil, manually harvesting it will be difficult, but you can use hands to remove the seeds from the plants. You will know that it is ready for harvesting when the leaves appear withered and scorched. Wash them immediately after harvest in order to remove the sands and stones attached to the bodies of the nuts. Average yield is between 10-19 tonnes of tiger nuts per hectare of tiger nut farm. Drying of Tiger Nuts: Drying of tiger nuts takes a considerable length of time; it takes about 3 months to dry tiger nuts properly. Traditionally, natural sun is being used in the villages for now. They have to be spread on an open place where it can be dried by the sun, continue turning them daily in order to achieve uniform drying. Keeping them properly dried will prevent insect infestations. When properly dried, the nuts will look wrinkled, hard and shrunk. When you want to use them, you have to soak them in water in order to get them back to normal sizes. Storage of Tiger Nuts: Owing to the fact that tiger nuts are dried for quite a considerable length of time, the water content is reduced to the barest minimum; this in turn reduces the carbohydrate content in them. This action increases the amount of sugar present in the nuts. In our next article in the series we are going to concentrate on the business aspect of tiger nuts. Stay with us as it is going to be very interesting making money from tiger nut business locally and internationally.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 6, 2021 21:48:44 GMT 1
Reasons Behind The Refusal Of US, EU Countries In Rejecting Agro Foods Exported From Nigeria
For quite some time now Nigerian farmers who are engaged in exporting of their farm produce to United States of America (US) and the European Union (EU) have been lamenting the refusal of both countries to accept agricultural food items exported from Nigeria into their countries.
The truth is that these countries do not even allow most of these commodities to cross their borders due to what they describe as the products containing excessive quantities of agro chemical substances.
We have been hearing this story for a very long time where agricultural commodities and foods from Nigeria were rejected because of excessive residues of agro chemical substances. And up till 2021 the same story is still being bandied about by farmers and exporters in the country.
It is very disheartening that the authorities in charge of inspecting the agricultural commodities before being loaded for export do not understand the requirements of these countries as regards the safety or accepted limits of agro chemical contents.
This hydra headed monster known as excess agro chemical content has reared its ugly head again in a gathering of agro product exporters at Yola, Adamawa state of Nigeria.
It is again being reported that stakeholders in the Nigeria agricultural food subsector have decried the rejection of locally produced food crops exported Western countries. The same story and lamentations we have been hearing over the years.
The lamentations took place at the launch of Agrochemical Safety Ambassadors in Yola, the Adamawa state capital. This is an initiative of Feed the future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity, jointly implemented by the Mercy Corps and Save the Children.
These stakeholders, most of them farmers lamented that their produce for export had been rejected because the produce contained high residues of agrochemical substances.
The same cry came from the Commissioner for Agriculture and Livestock Development of Adamawa State, Daware Iya-Umar that locally produced food crops for export get barred from the European markets because of high residues of agrochemical substances arising from wrong use or application of agrochemicals.
The question we should be asking ourselves at this stage is this, so all these years, we have not been able to learn how to apply agrochemical substances to our agro commodities during or after the production of the commodities or food crops?
It is very difficult to understand when even other stakeholders who have been part of the system for a very long time join in blaming improper use and application of agrochemicals for making it difficult for Nigerian food produce to pass standards set for food safety.
The situation has gotten to the level that it has taken the United States Government to set up Feed the Future Initiative, the United States Government’s Global Hunger and food Security Initiative to help us solve a very simple problem that has been besetting us all these years.
This is simply because the United States Government is concerned about the food their citizens eat and who produces the food for them. This is the main reason why they set up the agro-safety ambassadors according to the acting deputy chief of party; Feed the Future Initiative, Raymond Abogonye.
He told the audience that the US and their European counterparts care so much about the safety standards of the food they eat, and they have set standards which must be followed from crop production up to storage. However, our farmers are yet to observe these standards, particularly in their application and use of agrochemicals.
He said that agro-safety ambassadors which is the first level of awareness in addressing this problem, in the first phase is expected to reach 500,000 farmers in four states of Adamawa, Gombe, Borno, and Yobe where the activity is being implemented in the North East.
They want to use the market facilitative approach to include the chemical sellers themselves to start preaching the awareness to farmers who will come to buy the chemicals.
The initiative has over 1,000 chemical dealers on their register recruited for the campaign, with each chemical dealer to target 50 farmers on the safety use and application of agrochemicals.
This is a beautiful concept indeed. We had to wait this long for outsiders to come and do this by themselves.
We plead with our members to stay tuned to the forum as we will continue to monitor this activity which will help in making our agro products acceptable by the EU and the US.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Aug 31, 2021 23:23:43 GMT 1
The naira extended its decline on Monday, sliding to an all-time low of 527 against the dollar at the parallel market. The local currency, which has been on a downward trend in recent weeks, fell to 524 against the greenback on Friday from 522/$1 on Thursday. At the Investors and Exporters’ window, the naira, however, strengthened to 411.63/$1 on Monday from 412/$1 on Friday, according to FMDQ Group. The naira had strengthened to 506/$1 on August 4 after plunging to 525/$1 at the parallel market on July 28, a day after the Central Bank of Nigeria stopped foreign exchange sales to Bureaux de Change. The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had on July 27, at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, announced the stoppage of forex sale to the BDCs, saying they had turned themselves into ‘agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek illicit fund flow and money laundering in Nigeria.’ Source: punchng.com/naira-falls-to-all-time-low-of-527-against-dollar/
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Aug 29, 2021 21:53:27 GMT 1
Small And Medium Enterprises (SMEs): How To Attract Funds From Banks, Investors, And Other Financial Institutions – Part 1It is easier for the Carmel to pass through the eye of the needle than for the small scale business owner in Nigeria to access easy loan. If you have ever operated a small scale business in Nigeria at any time, you will bear me witness that the statement or assertion is true. I have never seen any segment of the country’s business environment that is so neglected as the small scale business segment. It has always been touted that about 50% of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) die or fold up within their first five (5) years globally. But I sincerely believe that it is more in the case of Nigeria. A typical example is what happened during the Covid-19 Pandemic and after; many small scale businesses were adversely affected, they still have not recovered up till today. They are still battling to raise elusive funds from some government agencies, but the road is still far for majority of them. Raising funds from banks is almost impossibility. I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that the problem is not because they do not have great business ideas or that they lack customers. The major problem is lack of finance or what you can describe as lack of easy access to credit or finance. Yes it is true that the credit or fund providers are usually not disposed to lending to small businesses, but the SMEs themselves have their own problems to tackle. They have to look critically at poor corporate governance structures they put in place that have been inhibiting their ability to raise funds. Apart from lack of customers, many Nigerian entrepreneurs lack the basic understanding of what it takes to run a successful business no matter how big or small. Below are some simple but very important corporate governance practices that will make your small business more attractive to banks and other investors. Separate Your Business Finance From Your Personal Finances This is the greatest problem; most small scale business owners find it very difficult to separate their personal finances from those of the business. They run finances of both the company and that of their family together through one bank account. Doing this makes it difficult to separate the transactions of the two entities. There is no way any investor or financial institution will lend you money when your financial records are in such a state of disarray. You cannot mix your personal financial transactions with that of your business. No lender whether angel investor or bank can give you a loan without going through the company’s financial records. In most cases these small scale business owners do not keep any financial records. Financial documents like receipts, invoices, bank statements and others are just dumped into some cartons without anybody recording them for analysis in future. When the financial institutions call for financial records the business owner will not have anything to show or they will present incomplete records and transactions. This will of course be difficult to analyze because the records are not organized, and this will bring suspicion in the minds of the lenders. How To Solve This ProblemYou must separate your banking transactions. Have a separate bank account for the business, preferably a current account; and then another account for yourself as a person. This way you will be able to manage your personal banking transactions separately. Get a person to be recording all your transactions on daily basis, if you cannot afford someone like an account clerk, search for and get free software online that you can use to record your daily transactions; it can also give you daily, weekly, monthly and yearly balances. With these you will know how your business transactions are going; you will know at a glance the condition of your business at all times. Seeing your complete business records daily tells you the condition of your business, this will enable you take prompt actions when things start going wrong. When you start implementing simple financial practices like this; whenever you approach lenders you will have records to show the financial state of your business and thereby increasing your chances of attracting funds to your business. Stay with us as we strive to continually reveal to you how to solve simple and complex business problems. Our company trains exporters; should you be interested in learning how to start export business, do not hesitate to contact the admin of this forum.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Aug 29, 2021 21:36:56 GMT 1
The National Association Of Microfinance Banks of Nigeria (NAMB) Urges The Monetary Authorities To Fund The Country’s MSMEs Better
The National Association of Microfinance Banks of Nigeria (NAMB) has urged the Nigerian monetary authorities to widen the scope of their policy actions in order to fund the Nation’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) better.
The call was made at their 11th Annual General Meeting (AGM) by the President of the association, Malam Yusuf Ahmed Gyallesu in Abuja, Federal Capital.
In order to increase the productive capacity of these Small Scale Enterprises, the President of the association suggested to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to create links between Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Development Banks, and other specialized Financial Institutions in the country.
The President of the Association, Malam Gyallesu said “What the Microfinance sub-sector needs now is funding; this is to enable them increase their capacity to support MSMEs in the country.
This funding can come in the form of interventions specifically designed and targeted at the MSMEs to be routed through the Microfinance Banks (MFBs).
“Another avenue is for the CBN to foster linkages between the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Development Banks, and other Specialized Financial Institutions such that MFBs can source wholesale funds from them in order to widen their outreach and for on-lending to the MSMEs at relatively cheaper costs”.
Every small scale business owner in Nigeria today knows that borrowing money from the Microfinance Banks is highly expensive; the interest rate is too high. How does the economy that is supposed to be driven by small scale businesses grow? It cannot work.
There is a dire need for linkages between the Deposit Money Banks, Development Banks and other Specialized Financial Institutions to allow Microfinance Banks to have increased access to their funds.
When the MFBs source funds at cheaper rates, they will also lend to the MSMEs at cheaper rates too. But a situation where MFBs in the country are left on their own to start sourcing for expensive funds, then the cost of funds will become too high for the small scale business owner to work with.
It is almost impossible for MSMEs to source funds from conventional banks in Nigeria; but they are the only financial institutions now that can lend to businesses at reasonable cost.
Until the monetary policy operators in the country realize that without proper lending policies for the growth of small and medium scale businesses the economy will remain in limbo for as long as the situation does not change.
SMEs are the engine room of growth in any economy. The world over; every government pays great attention to the aspect that grows its economy faster. If the Federal Government of Nigeria wants the economy to grow fast, special attention must be paid to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.
The MSMEs in Nigeria contribute about 50% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP); it also accounts for about 86.3 percent of the total jobs in the country as 2017 reports by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria.
Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, and currently has more than 40 million Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises. This number of MSMEs account for more than 50% of the nation’s industrial jobs. They also control 90% of the activities of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria.
The sheer volume of these enterprises should tell the country’s financial and economic managers that if they want to change the financial status of the nation they should start with the MSMEs.
Any positive adjustment in the financial fortunes of these enterprises will definitely bring positive results to the economy of the country.
From the data, it shows that MSMEs are very important to the growth of the economy of this nation, and therefore should be accorded greater attention.
Stay with us as we continue to bring to you important information that will help your small business grow faster.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Aug 29, 2021 13:27:10 GMT 1
How You Can Start A Profitable Sugarcane Business In Nigeria: A Step By Step Guide – Part 1The Federal Government of Nigeria has recently announced that the country will stop the importation of sugar by the year 2023; this was revealed by the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Nanono. Did you know that Nigeria has the largest sugar refining plant in Africa? Yes it is true. Dangote Sugar Refinery is the largest sugar refinery in Africa and the second largest in the world. But unfortunately, our local production of sugarcane can only meet about 10% of its sugarcane demands. The balance of 90% can only be met by importation; this will be enriching other countries while our youths and other able bodied people are languishing in abject poverty. Also did you know that Nigeria is the highest consumer of sugar in Africa after South Africa? These revelations triggered my desire to bring this article to you so that you can see how to key into farming of sugarcane and take advantage of this lucrative business before 2023. Almost every adult in Nigeria has come in contact with sugarcane at one time or the other, but many do not know that sugarcane is the principal raw material for making sugar that we use daily. In this article series I am going to take you through the method of farming sugarcane in the country and how you can make it a profitable business; I will be taking you through actionable steps that you can take to be successful in the business. Sugarcane business is a type of business that many underrate and easily overlook for lack of knowledge or what can be called ignorance. I got one shocker in my life when I was called back from my export processing site in Oyo state because a friend was sick of what the doctor referred to as Jaundice. The sickness was so bad that he was taken to the hospital unconscious as it has refused to yield to all the medications applied. On getting to the hospital, the doctor refused to administer more medications because according to him, he had taken enough medications, that what he only needed for treatment at that time was to take sugarcane. Everybody was shocked; but we all went out looking for sugarcane sellers. You know that those sugarcane sellers only hawk them in the towns; they don’t have shops where you can easily locate them. When we bought enough quantity, the doctor advised us to give some quantity to him; you cannot believe that within two hours he was discharged. That was when I picked interest in sugarcane farming and business. At every opportunity I have, I try to ask questions as to the various types of sugarcane available and states that produce them. It was then that I discovered that a farmer can easily become a millionaire farming sugarcane within a short period of time. Nigeria still imports more than 90% of raw sugar into the country for our local consumption. States where sugarcane is farmed mostly in Nigeria
Kano state – Kano state produces the largest quantity of sugarcane in Nigeria Kaduna state Katsina state Jigawa state There are many other states that are engaged in farming sugarcane, but they are based mostly in Northern Nigeria. There are other multinational sugar plants in the country like, Dangote sugar plant, BUA sugar plant, and Golden penny, and others that have large sugarcane plantations. Some other companies are also engaged in farming sugarcane used in augmenting their imported raw sugar. Let us dive straight into sugarcane farming in Nigeria proper without wasting time. How to prepare the land you will use for your sugarcane plantation: We have been emphasizing that any land to be used in planting in Nigeria has to be loamy and loose in order to allow for proper penetration of the roots, this is the only way you can achieve optimum results in the farming business. You must locate a good site that is not waterlogged but very rich in organic matter. Sugarcane performs best in land that is well drained, sandy and loamy, and with a PH value of 5.0 – 7.0; it can do well in a plain ground or a raised flat-bed because of flood. You can plant sugarcane three times a year in Nigeria (February/March, July and October). You need to purchase long, thick and healthy stems for your planting. Cut the stems to foot sizes allowing 3-4 nods on it where it can sprout from on germination. If you notice any leaf or flower on the stem, remove it before planting. These article series are going to be very exciting; you must stay with us in order to benefit immensely from this business venture. We will continue in the next article. Stay with us and don’t forget that we deliver regular training sessions on Agro export businesses to new and existing exporters. Get in touch with the admin of this group for more information and how to benefit from them.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Aug 25, 2021 23:01:43 GMT 1
The British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones has revealed that British firms operating in Nigeria were able to generate £1.9 billion through exports to Nigeria in 2020. He likewise put total imports from Nigeria to the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020, at £1.3 billion.He made this known over the weekend at the Nigeria-Britain Association’s Presidential Cocktail, held in Lagos, with the aim of providing an opportunity for the newly elected President of the association, Abimbola Okoya, to share her vision to friends and partners of the association. According to Llewellyn-Jones, Nigeria has over time been perceived to be a difficult environment for business; hence the two countries must collaborate to correct the poor perception. He said the above view doesn’t accurately portray the complete reality of the collaborative business environment between the UK and Nigeria, saying oftentimes, this has caused opportunities aimed at enhancing business relationships between both countries, being overlooked. According to him, “the history of success for British firms operating in Nigeria is robust, total UK exports to Nigeria amounted to £1.9 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4, 2020. “Also, total UK imports from Nigeria amounted to £1.3 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4, 2020. We are glad N-BA has created this platform to help promote the Nigeria-UK relationship. “I am pleased to reiterate that our bilateral relationship is a strong one based on shared history, shared values and shared interests. “The British Government recognises the great potential in Nigeria and I am optimistic that the Nigeria-UK relationship will continue to flourish. “Nigeria’s success matters to the UK and it is in all of our interests to turn these opportunities into sustained growth by continuing to work together,” he said. Also speaking at the event, Okoya said the Nigeria-British Association was committed to continue to strengthen ties between both countries, along with the collaborative vision of the founders of the association. “We will continue to create an identity that reflects the bonds of mutual understanding, cultural exchange and friendship between Nigerians, Britons and members of the Commonwealth, towards a common goal,” she noted. The Nigeria-British Association is a non-profit organisation that has existed for over 50 years, with the aim of improving economic and socio-cultural ties between Nigeria, Britain, and the Commonwealth. Source: www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/07/12/uk-generated-1-9bn-from-export-to-nigeria-in-2020/
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Aug 25, 2021 22:36:08 GMT 1
How To Start Lucrative Breadfruit Farming Business In Nigeria- All You Need To Know – Part 1 In this article we are going to discuss all relevant information and details you need on this exotic fruit also known as Ukwa in Igbo. It is an edible traditional fruit belonging to the Moraceae family; it is also related to other exotic fruits like Breadnut, Jackfruit, Figs and Mulberries. The scientific name is Treculia Africana, it is highly sought-after because of its medicinal properties; containing moderate levels of essential vitamins and minerals. In Nigeria, especially the Igbo race; it can be eaten as a main meal at important occasions like celebrations. It is not being consumed at all times because of scarcity. It is important that you understand that breadfruit is an economic tree which if properly managed can make you millions within a very short time because the demand far more exceeds supply. Breadfruit farming is very good for those who are into farming multiple trees and vegetables. In this article we are discussing farming of breadfruit and not medicinal properties or health benefits; we shall come to those later in the series. This plant is found mostly in Malay Peninsula, South East Asia and other parts of the world. In Nigeria it is mostly consumed in the South East part of the country, which is inhabited by the Igbo race. But it can grow in any warm climatic land. The fruit weighs about 3-4 kg when ripened ready for use. It can be used for many things like candies and cakes too. The uses are so many; we will come to that later in the series. When you eat it raw, it tastes like cassava; when cooked it tastes like potato or bread. The leaves are used for feeding livestock like goats, cows and pigs and others. We will deal extensively with Ukwa business so that you know everything that will make you rich as a farmer or just a businessman dealing in this fruit. Ukwa fruit is highly sought-after in the metropolitan cities. The first thing to consider in the business of setting up an Ukwa farm is land selection. The land to be used should be a farmland, probably owned by you. As much as possible let the land be near the market where the product will be sold; but in these modern times with better evacuation methods this cannot pose much problems. The land should be friendly for raising crops and should be accessible to the people who would be working there. The tree has a lifespan of between 60-100 years. This is the reason why you should not lease a land for this purpose. This is an economic tree; it will outlive many people that saw it when it was planted. Generation will make money from it; imagine if you have such trees about 100 of them planted in your farm, the family will enjoy them for a very long time. Breadfruit matures and starts bearing fruit in 3-5 years after planting. It is not a type of plant you start reaping the gains after six months, no; it takes a bit of time, and therefore you need to understand this. How To Prepare Your Land For Breadfruit Planting Before you start planting on the land, first remove all trees that can pose as impediments to the growth of your breadfruit trees. But leave the ones that will serve as shades for the time being. If there are no existing trees on the land, then you need to plant fast growing trees that will serve as shades, shelter, protectors and windbreaks for your young plants. Create manure or compost by yourself with the grasses you will get from the weeding of the farm; heap them together for your natural fertilizer. The soil as usual should be well drained, sandy and loamy; it should be rich in organic matter. Please do not plant in shallow soil; the soil to be used for planting breadfruit should be deep and the land should not be water logged in any form. Ph level of 6.0-7.0 is ideal in a soil that is high in organic matter and high level of nutrients. Your measurements should be accurate, if possible use a measurement tape for measuring the land. The holes should be 45-60 cm in length, 45-60 cm wide and 25-30 cm deep. Digging of the holes should be done for some time before commencement of the planting, after which you can bury the compost you prepared earlier or get new ones; this will act as additional nutrients for the soil in the holes. The compost will be releasing nutrients gradually into the soil. Dear farmer, you can see the steps and intricacies of getting the best out of your farm. Do not neglect all these processes and instructions; they are the differences you see between a successful and unsuccessful farmers or farms. In the second article in the series, we will continue with other processes involved in profitable breadfruit (Ukwa) farming business in Nigeria. To create wealth you need to be patient, the Breadfruit we are eating and enjoying today was planted by farmers many years ago; so be patient and create wealth for future generations. Do not forget that we train exporters at our training centre; should you want to receive the best export training in Nigerian exportable commodities, contact the admin of this forum for more information.Stay with us.
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NON OIL EXPORT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS` COMMENTS - 3 VIDEO CLIPS
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Post by Trade facilitator on Aug 20, 2021 11:36:57 GMT 1
The Federal Government Of Nigeria (FGN) Is Ready To Give Out N12.3 billion To More Than Two Million Farmers In Nigeria As Subsidies
The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has concluded arrangements to give out N12.3 billion to Nigerian farmers as agricultural subsidies in the coming weeks. Officials of the Presidency confirmed that the President, Muhammadu Buhari had already approved the first tranche, a sum of N6.15 billion for the first batch of 1.2 million farmers in the country. The Senior Special Assistant on Agriculture to the President, Andrew Kwasari, told newsmen that the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System had validated the first batch of the beneficiaries. He reiterated that the first batch of 1.2 million farmers would soon start receiving alerts, and that another batch of over one million farmers would also receive their own N6.15 billion agricultural subsidy soon. Mr. Kwasari said “The President has approved subsidies for 1.2 million farmers in Batch A and the NIBSS has validated the farmers’ bank accounts and BVN (Bank Verification Numbers) as farmers. We have another batch of over one million farmers and NIBSS has also validated the bank details and it will be sent to Mr. President for approval. The NIBSS validates every BVN tied to any account and can tell you the owner of such account in this country”. Mr. Kwasari also insisted that the Federal Government of Nigeria had captured over six million farmers across the country, and that the data of the operators were in his office. “We’ve captured over six million and very soon, we will be giving direct subsidies to these registered farmers,” he said. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agriculture urged the registered farmers who will benefit from the coming subsidy to deploy the funds judiciously for agricultural purposes when they start receiving the funds, and also pointed out that the government would monitor the use of the funds. Remember that we brought you this information in this forum that if you are a farmer that you should do everything possible to register as a farmer with the Federal Government through the portal opened for that. I encouraged you to go to your state ministry of agriculture to enquire on how to register; you can see that the project is a reality. If you had registered, who knows, you may have been chosen to receive the subsidy which could have been a life changing experience. In another event, Nigerian farmers have quantified the losses they incurred in the past year to be about 50% of their total annual production due to high level of insecurity in the country. The farmers described the situation as very precarious, they also expressed the fear that if the Federal Government still could not halt the country’s worsening security situation that there will be food crises soon. The farmers complained that their members could no longer visit their farms for fear of the bandits especially in the Northern part of the country where bandits and other terror groups control quite some big territory. The National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria said “We don’t know the exact number of farmers we have in Nigeria and the total produce in any crop. Nobody has any exact data on this. We are working on making the exact data of farmers available, but our production losses are very huge. However, to be on a conservative side, we have lost almost 50% of what we used to produce. And this is because most of us cannot produce anything because of the level of insecurity in the country.” The AFAN president noted that the hike in food prices was also due to the drop in agricultural production basically caused by insecurity in the country. He called for collective efforts of all in addressing the worsening security situation in Nigeria, saying that if the situation persisted it would degenerate to a national food crisis. If you are a member of this forum and you are a farmer but you still have not registered with government, please do so as it is not yet too late. Make enquiries to find out in your local government how it is done. Stay with us. Don’t forget that we conduct trainings on agro-exports; get all the required information from the admin of the forum.
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