The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says it conducted 728 capacity-building programmes in 2025, impacting 96,221 participants across its 36 state and regional offices nationwide.

Nonye Ayeni, executive director of the council, disclosed this during a news conference on Non-oil Export Performance and the 2026 Outlook, in Abuja on Monday.

Ms Ayeni said the figure represented a significant increase from 629 programmes held in 2024.

She noted that the programmes impacted more than 64,000 participants in 2024, indicating expanded outreach and deeper engagement with exporters.

Ms Ayeni said capacity-building remained central to strengthening competitiveness and compliance within Nigeria’s non-oil export ecosystem.

According to her, the programmes covered good agricultural practices, warehouse management, export documentation, digital trade, and export readiness.

She added that targeted mentorship and skills-acquisition initiatives were designed to equip exporters to participate in global markets.

She disclosed that NEPC fully funded international certifications for 210 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in 2025, bringing the total number of supported exporters to nearly 700.

The NEPC boss said an additional 567 exporters were currently undergoing certification processes to meet international market requirements.

She explained that certification initiatives enhanced access to niche markets and reduced rejection rates for Nigerian exports.

Ms Ayeni said exporter development was further strengthened through the formation of clusters and aggregation centres across key value chains.

She cited the establishment of Nigeria’s first export production cluster for sesame in Kebbi State as a major milestone.

According to her, the pilot project involved 250 farmers cultivating 500 hectares using high-quality seeds and improved production standards.

Ms Ayeni said the initiative demonstrated the council’s commitment to job creation and poverty reduction under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

She added that NEPC also trained youths and women through export skill acquisition centres in partnership with the private sector.

The council, she said, distributed over 4,600 hybrid seedlings to farmers to boost productivity and export readiness.

Ms Ayeni noted that digital trade initiatives led to the onboarding of over 70 SMEs on e-commerce platforms in 2025.

She said NEPC would expand capacity-building programmes further in 2026 to broaden exporter participation nationwide. 

(NAN)