AS part of its objective to move Nigeria towards a zero-oil economy, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has successfully concluded a two-week intensive capacity building programme on leather and leather products with a mini-exhibition and the graduation ceremony of pioneer participants held in Ibadan, over the weekend.
The training which saw male and female participants coming from different parts of the country was fully funded by NEPC. The participants learnt how to produce high-quality fashion bags made from leather among other products.
Speaking on the outcome of the programme, the CEO of NEPC, Mr Segun Awolowo, who was represented by the Southwest Regional Director, Mr Babatunde Faleke, said the country will move from mere exportation of raw materials to the place of adding value by manufacturing finished products.
“We will get a high premium on leather products which has a multiplier effect on job creation, industrialisation and standardisation. The products you can see here can compete with any brand in the world and I am proud of that. This is a game-changer. We need to change from the former way of doing things by adding value and getting the final products out there for export,” he said.
To execute the training, he said NEPC had engaged a leader in leather bags industry, Femi Handbags “an internationally renowned bag maker who was more than willing to share experience.”
The NEPC boss said the training would be a quarterly event, adding that it would partner the state government to execute to and create an industrialisation and training hub within the state.
Oyo State Commissioner for Trade, Commerce and Cooperative, Princess Taibat Adeyemi-Agaba, who was present together with her counterpart from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Atinuke Osunkoya, expressed delight with the quality of leather works on display, saying that the state government will continue to encourage industrialisation and made-in-Nigeria goods.
“The fundamental part of being a good businesswoman is learning the trade the proper way, and I am so happy to be a part of this,” Adeyemi-Agaba said in commendation of the training.
Mrs Obafemi Olayebi, Chief Creative Director of My World of Bags, the umbrella company of Femi Handbags, expressed gratitude for the “opportunity that was given to us by NEPC to execute the training. It is a dream come true for me.”
She said the leather bags on display were part of a production process which many unengaged youths could be part of in order to create a source of livelihood for themselves. “Not everybody can be a handbag designer or shoe-maker, but we need other skills that are part of this process. There are lot of youths out there who have nothing to do; the thing for them is to want to learn and empower themselves,” she said.
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