IN a bid to help small and medium-sized entrepreneurs compete favourably and scale up, immediate past Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo, recently supported Bellafricana members with an N60 million grant.
Bellafricana is a tech-enabled community that provides a platform for Nigerian and African Creative entrepreneurs in several sectors, helping them gain visibility, increase sales and get the right business support and structure that gives them the capacity to grow their business.
CEO, Bellafricana, Bukky Asehinde said this opportunity is meant to support SMEs through the Export Development Fund (EDF) via the Export Expansion Facility Programme [EEFP] which issued an N60 million grant to the 15 awardees of the third ACE Awards as well as other Bellafricana members that have shown export potential.
The EEFP seeks to democratize the discovery of exporters and their access to relevant government incentives to grow. The initiative supports businesses in Nigeria, with at least one customer abroad, or working on acquiring customers abroad and also supports businesses in Nigeria that provide services that an export business might need, offering these businesses a series of incentives to expand their reach and become exporters.
EEFP, founded as part of Awolowo’s legacy to grow Nigeria’s export industry has provided a catalyst that supports the country’s active export businesses and export-ready businesses.
Speaking further, Asehinde said Awolowo, through the NEPC, has been supportive of the growth and expansion of not just Bellafricana but her members and giving more visibility to African-owned creative businesses.
She added that Awolowo through NEPC had sponsored and supported over 5000 creatives and is now wrapping up with this major grant so creative entrepreneurs can scale up while growing the country’s export industry.
A grant beneficiary appreciated Awolowo for believing in Nigerian creative entrepreneurs and supporting them to scale beyond the shores of the country.
