The Federal Government is mapping out strategies to enhance Nigeria’s service export industry through digital trade platforms.
Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja at the “Service Export and E-Commerce” conference organized by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Dr. Doris Anite, emphasized the growing significance of services and e-commerce in global trade and economic growth.
“The service sector, in particular, has emerged as a powerful engine for innovation, job creation, and economic diversification.
“Nigeria, blessed with a rich talent pool and thriving industries such as IT, finance, creative arts, and professional services, is well-positioned to take a leadership role in the global services market.
“Central to today’s discussion is the transformative power of digital platforms in global trade.
“These platforms have revolutionized the way businesses connect and providing vast opportunities for service providers to expand internationally”.
Represented by Umaru Gani Ahmed, Anite stated that digital trade platforms help in breaking down traditional barriers, facilitate cross-border transactions, and drive export inclusiveness, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that were once restricted by geographical and infrastructural limitations.
“The initiative to develop a digital platform dedicated to boosting Nigeria’s services export is both timely and strategic.
“Through sustained growth and development, this platform will not only provide viable market access opportunities but also structure efforts to mainstream women and the skilled, talented youth populace into the global economy, thereby promoting economic diversification which will not only benefit the service sector but also make a significant contribution to the overall economy.
“To fully harness these opportunities, Nigeria must proactively invest in the right infrastructure, provide robust support systems, and implement policies that empower service providers to thrive in the digital marketplace” she said.
In her welcome address, the Executive Director of NEPC, Nonye Ayeni stated that “I am excited to be here, this conference today is hinged on two major pillars. One is export of services and the second is E commerce.
“You will agree with me that these are some hot topics going around the whole world, anywhere you go from Europe to the US to Asia, they are talking about service export, they are talking about E business and they are talking about digital trade.
“So it is important that Nigeria should also key in to this. And you will agree with me that services all over the world, contributes much larger percentage to GDP.
“In Nigeria last year, the contribution to GDP from services sector was much more than agricultural product”” the ED noted.
She lamented that the sector is largely untapped with a lot of revenue going unharvested.
“The world global service export in 2022 stood at $7.1 trillion, for Africa, it was $130 billion and $4.8 billion for Nigeria.
“You will agree with me that the services sector is unstructured and greatly untapped” she stated.
The conference aims to build improved structure that will facilitate the recovery of revenue in the service sector in Nigeria.