From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
The United Nations Development Programme has supported the National Action Committee on Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to research and validate identified five key trade-in-services opportunities for Nigeria under AfCFTA.
This was coming at a time when the Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, was marketing Nigeria anywhere he went thriving to address the country’s numerous challenges like unemployment, underemployment, multidimensional poverty, insecurity, climate change, and exodus of companies from the country due to high cost of production.
The five key trade-in-services opportunities identified for Nigeria are business services, financial services, transportation and logistics, travels and tourism, and communication services.
So by deliberately promoting trade, Nigeria would not only strengthen its economy, it would also contribute to regional economic integration, leading to sustainable development across the continent and even beyond.
Speaking at a two-day validation workshop on identifying key trade-in-services opportunities under the AfCFTA for Nigeria in Lagos at the weekend,
the National Coordinator, Tax for SDGs, United Nations Development Programme, Dr. Saied Tafida, remarked that the workshop was not only to validate but to amplify research findings on the trade-in-services terrain, focusing intently on the five priority sectors earlier mentioned.
To him, the UNDP’s commitment to expanding trade within Africa and beyond has been instrumental, serving as a cornerstone in mobilising both private and public resources for Nigeria’s holistic development agenda, notably through the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF).
He added that the UNDP’s unwavering support to the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office has been instrumental in facilitating strategic and coordinated implementation of the AfCFTA.
“The research study, supported by UNDP and co-funded by the European Union, aims to provide invaluable data for policy formulation and strategy development, essential for effectively exploiting the AfCFTA opportunities.
“One of the most compelling opportunities lies in the expansion of market access. This monumental initiative not only unlocks access to a market comprising over 1.3 billion people across 54 countries but also encompasses a combined GDP exceeding $3.4 trillion.
“It is a gateway that promises expanded avenues for Nigerian businesses to diversify, scale, and thrive within regional value chains. Moreover, it catalyses the nurturing of a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem that fuels innovation, employment, and economic growth across sectors”, he noted.
Speaking on the sideline of the workshop, the Executive Secretary,
National Action Committee on AfCFTA, Olusegun Awolowo, represented by the Senior Trade Expert and Lead Trade Enablement, NAC-AfCFTA) Olusegun Olutayo restated the mandate of the committee to coordinate all the federal ministries, departments, and agencies on the implementation of AfCFTA.
“That mandate was given to this committee by the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari. The current administration has also taken it upon itself to continue to champion the implementation of AfCFTA.
“So this workshop goes to the heart of the implementation because it is all about improving the lives of Nigerians. It is about the people. How do you improve their market? How do you improve their business? How do you show them that there is a bigger market?
“When we were thinking of how to raise funds to bring people together to validate this research, UNDP came in handy because they believe in what we do. In essence, the workshop has helped us to know where the opportunities lie and what Nigerians should do to maximize these opportunities.
“The next thing after the validation of the consultant’s work is to print the research work and send it to the committee and then reveal to Nigerians where opportunities reside”, he said.
On his part, the Executive Director of Africa International Trade and Commerce Research Mr. Sand Mba-Kalu who was consulted for the research work on behalf of UNDP, the EU delegation to Nigeria, and NAC-AfCTA said the research became necessary because more than 50 percent of Nigeria’s GDP is anchored on services.
“Nigeria banks for example are in other African countries and beyond. So, the research focused on what other opportunities can we tap into because when we liberalise the market, it means other African countries should also be able to come to Nigeria to work.
“One of the key findings is that we need relevant MDAs to work collaboratively for us to maximise the opportunities the AfCFTA offers us and that was why we brought them together with those in the private sector to look at the findings and make input so it becomes a collective actionable document for us to move the country forward.
Participants at the workshop include all relevant federal MDAs, Kaduna State Ministry of Business Innovation and Technology, Abia State Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Industry, Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).
Photo: Participants at a two-day validation workshop on identifying key trade-in-services opportunities under AfCFTA in Lagos