NAHCO, NACCIMA partner to boost air export 

The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO Aviance) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) have renewed commitment to boosting the nation’s non-oil revenues.

The organisations gave this assurance recently during its capacity building forum on export processing for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Lagos.

Prince Saheed Lasisi, the Group Executive Director, Business & Business Development, NAHCO Plc, who spoke at the event said NAHCO has keyed into and is contributing tothe  Federal Government’s realisation of the vision of a 1 trillion-dollar economy by 2030.

“A major focus of the government in achieving this goal is commodity exports. And to record the needed volume in commodity exports, the nation needs the small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” Lasisi declared.

Lasisi said NAHCO recognises the contribution SMEs make to national development and is charting the way forward in preparing them for foreign markets.

He pointed out however that SMEs needed to build capacity in export processing because exporting agro products and commodities requires strong logistics and handling backbone and that NAHCO sits at the centre of the export value chain.

He explained that the company serves as the link between exporters, airlines, and regulators.

In this role, NAHCO will provide necessary guidance in cargo handling, including in areas of the quality of Product preservation, regulatory compliance, on-time flight connections, and acceptance requirements by international buyers.

Prince Lasisi, in his presentation, also detailed the specialized packaging required for perishable and sensitive items.

“We have provided, with FAAN’s approval, a proper packaging facility in the airport area. Our packaging area is in the NAHCO Export Packaging and Processing Centre (NEPPC), the only one of its kind in Nigeria, and we started operations in July last year. NAHCO also has an Export Desk that provides support for exporters,” he explained.

In his paper at the event, Kola Awe, Chairman, NACCIMA Export Group, said NACCIMA has put in place initiatives designed to assist smaller businesses.

He said, “We have created the NACCIMA Export Support Centre for MSMEs. The average exporter faces a lot of challenges. A lot of exporters are finding it difficult to scale their businesses because of so many challenges. Multinationals are faring better than MSMEs because they have the financial might to take on any issues they might face in exporting.”

Highlighting the economic weight of small businesses, he said, “MSMEs contribute significantly to the Nigeria economy. There are an estimated 39.6 million MSMEs in Nigeria, though this number has slightly declined in recent years due to a challenging economic environment. This is why we need to provide support for MSMEs.

“MSMEs also have a strong presence in agriculture, retail, and manufacturing. The NACCIMA Export Support Centre for MSMEs is a practical export intervention initiative to support SMEs.”

Sola Obadimu, the Director General, NACCIMA, had, while welcoming participants to the event stated that the collaboration between NAHCO and NACCIMA highlights the importance of private sector partnership in Nigerian agro products growth.

“Today, MSMEs account for 80 to 90% of businesses and they employ more than 80 percent of the workforce. Yet, their contribution to exports remains mostly disproportionate. If more SMEs embrace export, we can change the narrative.

“Addressing the barriers that SMEs face requires cooperation from various stakeholders. Nigeria’s economy has a lot of potentials and the activities of NACCIMA would contribute to achieving our goals,” he declared.

According Obadimu, while agriculture contributes to over 20 percent of Nigeria’s GDP, agro based exports still represent only a modest share of our local export earnings, likely due to procedural bottlenecks, lack of adequate export knowledge, weak export readiness, logistics challenges, and limited access to structured export support.