, Odiri Erewa-Meggison spoke about her vision and strategic approach to driving the growth of the non-oil export sector in improving foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria. Excerpts:
It is by virtue of BAT Nigeria’s affiliation with the MAN Export Promotion Group that I assumed the role of 1st Vice President within MANEG in November 2022, and I subsequently took on the position of Acting Chairman after six months. The transformative power of exports on the fortunes of this country and businesses is the driving force behind my commitment to this sector.
What is your vision for MANEG during your tenure and how do you plan to guide the group towards achieving it? We will also be aligning with relevant stakeholders in the country and the sub-region to build the needed platforms for the achievement of our objectives. In the coming weeks – and until the rest of the year – MANEG intends to carry on a series of projects, advocacy, engagement and other activities that we believe will elevate the non-oil exports conversations, secure additional incentives for members, lead to key regulatory changes to boost non-oil exports and also put non-oil exporters in good positions to take advantage of the available opportunities, including under the African Continental Free Trade Area .
Too often, activities of exporters are impeded by policy directions that may have good intentions but are not considered from a trade facilitation perspective, thereby creating more harm than good – from a business perspective. Just imagine, for example, that a banking-related initiative could cause delay in export of goods that then results in demurrage payment and completely wipes out an exporter’s profit.