Smashed: How Interior Minister Tunji-Ojo corrected visa error hindering Nigeria’s education export ambition - ITREALMS

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A major administrative flaw within the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) payment portal that inadvertently classified international students as highly-paid expatriate workers, thereby levying exorbitant visa fees, has been swiftly corrected following an intervention led by former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, reports ITREALMS.

The issue, which directly threatened Nigeria’s ambition to become an education export hub, was exposed during a recent visit by Mr. Chidoka to the Lux Terra Leadership Foundation in Abuja. Mr. Chidoka detailed the encounter with the founder of Lux Terra, Rev. Fr. George Ehusani, who highlighted the massive financial barrier facing their newly admitted international students. 

RMRDC Targets 30% value addition policy on export of local raw materials - ITREALMS

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The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has unveiled a new policy framework aimed at achieving a minimum of 30% value addition on all exports of local raw materials. 

The initiative is designed to boost the competitiveness of Nigeria’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and enhance the nation’s industrial base.

Lagos Mainland Trade Fair: Entrepreneurs gain export skills - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) played a pivotal role at the maiden edition of the Lagos Mainland Trade Fair, held on September 6 and 7 at Yard 158, Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, by equipping entrepreneurs with vital skills for international trade.

At the two-day fair, Senior Trade Officers from NEPC, Nancy Okpa and Olamide Olatunde, provided step-by-step guidance on export procedures, stressing the importance of compliance with international standards. 

Dangote cement export increases by 87.2% - ITREALMS

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Dangote Cement Plc has revealed that it dispatched some seven ships of clinker from Nigeria to Ghana and Cameroon within the first quarter of 2024 thereby increasing its export by 87.2 per cent at 264kt, reports ITREALMS.

A press statement from the company endorsed by Sunday Esan, informed ITREALMS that while the company commissioned 10 of the 17 Alternative Fuel Projects across the Group, the local demand for cement, in the same period under review in Nigeria increased significantly by 26.1 per cent to 4.6Mt and the overall group volume rose by 12.3 per cent to 7.0Mt, for the same quarter under view.

Trends and Opportunities for Export in Africa by Reuben Kalu - ITREALMS

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We Provide the Best Export Solution in Africa, unlocking Africa's trade potential, making it easier than ever for business owners to venture into the world of international trade to improve their forex earning.

You must be an exporter to survive the dollar exchange rate.

Export made easy @Trade and Export Promotion Academy by Reuben Kalu - ITREALMS

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Export is the sale of goods or services from a seller country to a buyer country, and it has the important effect of improving the economy of the selling country. A lot of people have believed that exporting involves taking some products and putting them on a plane or ship and wishing that nothing happens to it. They have no idea how to prepare the produce according to the requirement of the buyer as well as the relevant paper work needed for customs and other agencies. This has led to the seizure of thousands of goods at entry points into the USA and other countries, leading to huge losses to the exporter.

Essentially the key goal of export is to improve the economy of the seller country. That's the reason the government of the developing economy should take export seriously. As a business owner, there's need to focus on getting yourself into exporting. You've to do everything as much as possible, because as a business owner, export has the potential to improve the life of your business, because if your business is rich, it has the impact of doing so much for you. It's unfortunate that a lot of people underestimate export.

Trade triumphs: How export can reshape Africa's economic destiny by Reuben Kalu - ITREALMS

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In a globalized economy, businesses are constantly seeking avenues for expansion and sustainable growth. For enterprises in Africa, one strategy that holds immense potential is venturing into the realm of export. This article explores the various dimensions of exporting as a catalyst for not just business expansion but also economic development in the African context.

1. Understanding the African Business Landscape:
Overview of the current state of businesses in Africa.
Challenges faced by local businesses in a competitive market.
The need for diversification and exploration beyond local markets.

Beyond local content in oil, gas: ICT knowledge export call

Commentary@ITREALMS:

Can Nigeria export het tested Software Application Solutions? Yes, this has been happening unannounced for some time! Today, our innovation potential is weakened by the wedge of global financial Aid. It is therefore time to restore trust in the ability and audacity of Software Applications developed in Nigeria, by Nigerians wherever they may be anywhere in the world. In my professional assessment, the cumulative potentials of ICT Solutions, processes and services currently developed and supported by Nigerians all over the world is worth over 200billlion USD – including unaccounted patents and IP missing in digital action (MIDA).

To avoid emerging catastrophes in Nigeria’s and indeed Africa’s digital future, rethinking our national ICT strategy – beyond local content in Oil & Gas – has become a matter of critical urgency, for many cogent reasons. The first sustainable reason is that our digital destiny and national survivability should not be constructed on financial Aids as is the case presently at almost all levels of development and national security. In the last 60 years, Africa and Nigeria in particular has been going cap-in-hand, in search of and receiving insignificant financial Aids from Donors all over the world. However, Nations of the world that have attained constructive and sustainable development have not only done that through the mastery of science and technology, but conscious access to reasonable financial Grants for national development – but definitely not through Aids.

Secondly, the supersonic speed of digital evolution has accelerated the need and compels us to rethink national development strategies beyond Oil & Gas revenue generation. This can be done by advancing a National Software Strategic Plan, overhauling her inter-generational wisdom-database recourses and applying Innovative and creative ICT knowledge armory for global competitiveness. More than ever before, empowered by her youthful population of more than 65% of the Continent’s 1.28billion people, Africa/Nigeria is presented with an awesome opportunity to conquer knowledge poverty at all levels and enthrone astonishing prosperity beyond Oil & Gas, and devoid of financial Aids.

And thirdly, above all, the diminishing patriotism, audacity of merit and trustworthy content in our national development attitudes and social engagement agenda has become worrisome and constitute a multi-dimensional burden to sustainable development – especially within the ICT Ecosystem practically propelled by digital centrifugal force. Whereas, all the answers we have been searching for driving our sustainable development over the past 60 years have always resided in our skilled human resources and not on financial Aids.

With the TSA (Treasury Singly Account) and similar ICT solutions and services delivered to Nigeria by Nigerians, the nation has indeed arrived at the threshold to embark on the life-time business of knowledge export and support services to many parts of the world. This is why the promotion of inter-generational knowledge solutions – with particular reference to harnessing the National ICT Ecosystem should be our core strategic imperative. Numerous evidences abound and vividly illustrate why this is the wisdom roadmap to our collective destiny and prosperity. In my professional assessment, the cumulative potentials of ICT Solutions and services currently developed and supported by Nigerians all over the world is worth over 200 billlion USD – including unaccounted patents and IP missing in digital action (MIDA).

Problem is, we currently don’t have the commensurate data to proof this, due to the seeming neglect of critical Baseline studies and blatant appointments of non-professionals to deliver the IT-Profession-of Things at many critical levels. The following are glaring example:

The revenue of the Indian ICT (Information and Communication Technology) sector is expected to reach an approximate value of about INR 14,42,839.5 crores (US$ 225 Billion) by the end of 2020 from current level of INR 10,53,434 crores (US$ 164.3 Billion) growing at CAGR of about ~11.1%, reveals the ASSOCHAM-RNCOS study.

The study jointly published by ASSOCHAM and RNCOS has stated that since cloud, mobility, social media and big data analytics are playing significant role in driving growth of software products and continue to drive the need for investments.

Singapore ICT Industry - Outlook. Contribution to Singapore's Economy. • $167.1 billion Industry Revenue (2014). • 30.3 % Domestic Revenue of Industry  https://www.austrade.gov.au ›  Countries and economies › Singapore.

Malaysia: Te National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Association of Malaysia, or PIKOM, aims to grow the industry’s revenue to RM95 billion by 2017 with its new “5-year strategic direction”. Last year, the national ICT revenue stood at RM57 billion while this year’s projection is expected to be around RM62 billion, according to a study by PIKOM.

Pakistan: The country’s IT industry is set to double by 2020, said the CEO of Pakistan’s national technology fund, increasing from the current worth of $3.5 billion to $7 billion. (source: Express Tribute Sat 19tha may 2018)

.IRELANS: Ireland has become the global technology hub of choice when it comes to attracting the strategic business activities of ICT companies. This has earned Ireland the reputation for being the heart of ICT in Europe. The industry employs over 37,000 people and generates €35 billion in exports annually. The drive is supported through Ireland's 25% R&D tax credit and generous grant support from the IDA. (Source : IDA, Ireland)

CHILE: Johannesburg – Multinational ICT group Datatec’s [JSE:DTC] Logicalis plans to acquire Chilean ICT services and solutions provider, Coasin Chile SA, for up to US$20.8m in cash.

On Tuesday, Datatec announced that a subsidiary of Logicalis Group had signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Coasin Chile, which also has operations in Peru. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

TAIWAN: Taiwan’s science parks are designed and administered to provide ideal conditions for high-tech business operations. The parks also provide excellent environments for developing powerful synergy among clusters of related enterprises, some in nearby industrial parks, and public R&D institutions. Taiwan ranks first in the “state of cluster development” index of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competiveness Report 2013- (Source: Taiwan Republic of China –Government Year 2016).

Many smarter countries have realized that the effect of local-content legislation and policies in the oil and gas industry is not enough, recognizing that the core interface to ensuring maximum results reside in making ICT as the key driving force and critical linkage for promoting progressive and sustainable Local Content agenda. The Software-Nigeria knowledge frontier more than ever before, requires a National Software Strategic Plan and forward-looking legislation as roadmap to the creation of more employment, improved GDP, National Security, Youth empowerment assurances, global competitiveness and national survivability.  

*Courtesy: Chris Uwaje, former president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON)

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Why FG cancelled Export Grant - Adeosun

ITRealms:

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has offered some explanation why the Federal Governemnt (FG) under the previous administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, cancelled the Export Grant, saying it was grossly abused, reports ITRealms.

Speaking during a visit by the leadership of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, (NESG) led by the chairman Mr. Kwari Bukar and Chief Executive, Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola, said that the government justified the stopped the policy on Export Grant due to serious abuse.

While responding to the explanation sought by NESG on the current status of Export Grant, the Minister stated that although her predecessor in office halted the implementation of the policy, she believed the decision was in order going by harvests of startling revelations on the abuse of export grant.

“On paper, why will you cancel Export Grant? The EG is set up to encourage export business.

However, in a situation, where we do not have control, we open up doors for the kind of abuse, which are only imaginable. We have people exporting stones, describing them as high valued goods, collecting an import credit and using that to import fish.

“We do need to look for how to support export, but we have to be very realistic in the recommendations we are coming up with," Adeosun said.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Pix: L-R: Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Kwari Bukar and the group’s Chief Executive, Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola during a courtesy visit of the NESG team to the Minister in Abuja on Thursday.

NPA will support initiative for export economy – Malam Habib

ITRealms:

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Habib Abdulahi, has assured Nigerians that the Authority would encourage any effort designed to change the trade orientation of the nation from import dependent to export, ITRealms reports.

Adding that the provision of appropriate port infrastructure by the Federal Government and the private sector is necessary to facilitate export activities through the nation’s seaports. He however pointed out that other factors which might be extraneous to the Authority are also critical towards achieving enhanced export activities in the nation’s seaports.

Represented by the General Manager, Capital Project, Engr. Rufai Mohammed in a paper titled, “Providing Enabling Port Infrastructure to Enhance Trade” at the just concluded two-day International Seatrade and Investment Convention (ISIC) 2015, under the theme “Exploring New Trade Frontiers” , the Managing Director  reiterated that as globally accepted seaports the sector accounts for over 80 per cent by volume of International trade and commerce, emphasising  that for a seaport to be competitive, it must have a robust infrastructural base amongst other requirements.

He argued that with the major infrastructural improvements embarked upon by the Authority in its ports and harbour in all its four pilotage districts, coupled with the impending 25 year port master plan which has reached an advanced stage, the organisation is being positioned to properly meet the demand of all categories of port users for both imports and exports.

Malam Habib explained that mindful of the Federal Government determination of delivering an efficient port system for the overall good of the nation’s economy, the Authority was consolidating and entrenching the gains of the port reform by facilitating and synergizing the activities of the Private Terminal Operators, Shipping Lines, Freight Forwarders and other stakeholders, as well as improving the existing port infrastructure.

In a press release made available to ITRealms, by the General Manager, Public Affairs, Capt. I. Ebubeogu, the Managing Director  enumerated a number of completed and on-going capital projects embarked upon by the Authority, explaining that the projects were meant to add efficiency to the nation’s seaports as well as to make the system competitive, effective and user friendly.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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