Aba business hub can compete globally if supported – Export Institute

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Read History Go to My Account Log Out Enhanced by Google BDSunday Aba business hub can compete globally if supported – Export Institute The Aba business hub can compete favourably in the global business space if given adequate attention. Export experts who made

Listen to this article Share The Aba business hub can compete favourably in the global business space if given adequate attention. Export experts who made this declaration also said the business centres of all of Abia State and other hubs in Nigeria can also compete.

This is as the Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM), in collaboration with TAGDev 2.0 Program University of Port Harcourt, has trained about 350 Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) on packaging, branding and compliance for consumer goods.

Ofon Udofia, executive secretary of the Institute, said in Umuahia in the week that with the right knowledge, support, and market access, businesses from Aba and all of Abia State and across Nigeria can compete more effectively in both the local and international markets.

The two-day training was supported by RUFORUM in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. It was held at Kolpping Society of Nigeria, World Bank Housing Estate, Umuahia, Abia State capital.

In his opening remarks, Udofia described the South East as a region with enormous entrepreneurial potential and a hub with strong tradition of commerce, manufacturing, and enterprise. He said all that is needed is an articulated agenda to gradually grow the industry with training, exposure, facilities, and good business environment so that goods could be produced at globally competitive costs.

Udofia disclosed that one of the major challenges facing many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria is not necessarily the quality of their products, but how those products are packaged, presented, labeled and prepared to meet applicable regulatory requirements.

He informed that a good product may struggle in the marketplace if its packaging is unattractive, its branding is unclear, or it fails to meet the standards required by consumers and regulators. “This is why this training is both timely and important”.

Furthermore, “Our goal is to equip participants with knowledge they can apply directly to their businesses, help: them build consumer confidence, improve competitiveness and explore new market opportunities, including export markets “.

Udofia was particularly impressed that the training included the ‘differently able persons’, as their participation reflected the importance of inclusive enterprise development and a belief that business opportunities, knowledge, and capacity-building should be accessible to all.

He commended the Abia State Government, partners, facilitators and all stakeholders whose contributions made the training possible.

He advised the participants to see the training as an opportunity to identify gaps in their businesses, acquire practical solutions, and take deliberate steps to prove the quality, presentation, as well as market readiness of their products.

He declared thus: “A product must not only be good; it must also be properly presented, appropriately labeled, and complaint with the requirements of its target market”.

Henry Dienye of TAGDev 2.0 Uniport, Entreprneur and Business Development Officer, in an interview, however, said that the training programme was on packaging, labeling, and compliance; and that the reason this was happening was because, most of the entrepreneurs had good products but were unable to scale up through ideation to come up with the products.

“And their products are just being sold within their confines and environment but have not been able to go beyond where they are produced.

“So, the essence of the programme is to bring them into the limelight of how their products can be well packaged because packaging is very important”, he stated.

He went on: “Appearance is what somebody sees first, no matter whatever product you have inside”.

Dienye said the training would help them the beneficiaries to identify the required packaging for a particular product, and realise that not all packaging is suitable for every product. “So, every product has its unique way of packaging.”

According to him, training would help to open their eyes on the kind of packaging they should adopt and the one they should use for a particular product.

“Outside that, it helps them to create branding, because 10 persons can be doing the same thing but one will stand out. Many may ask why, but they would not know that it is because there is a kind of unique branding that makes it different from what others are doing.”

This programme, he further stated, would also help them be able to brand and label their products. “Outside that, for the purpose of export, especially, for consumables, there are compliance that should be adopted; compliance that they need to incorporate in what they are doing.

“For example Zobo drink and others, there are standards for National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for them to meet before the products are exported.

“This is an eye opener for them. All these things put together including the registration of your business make your products exportable with unique branding, unique labeling, and quality packaging that will stand the test of time”, Dienye said.

Some of the more than 350 participants glittering with excitement spoke of their hopes. Gladys Samuel, spoke about the programme thus: “The programme is very, very beneficial to us. Initially, I didn’t know that this is how it should be. So I have learnt a lot from it in the sense that I have known how to repackage my products.

“I am a fashion designer, and I have learnt how to repackage and brand my products to make them go far, beyond Abia State. I have also known how to make them look attractive. I thank the organisers of this programme”.

Ogbonnaya Chukwu, on his own, said: “The thing I have learnt today will help me grow my business by rebranding my products, and repackaging them to make them attractive to people.

“I am also very glad with the Institute of Export Operations and Management who brought this programme to us. They should keep it up, and take it to other areas that they have not reached, so that what we have learnt today, others will learn it to grow their own businesses, too. I benefited a lot”.

Udofia, the Executive Secretary (and CEO) of the Institute of Export Operations and Management with headquarters in Port Harcourt has rallied groups for SMEs and to help reduce poor product showing especially for export. He is working with the belief that packaging and complying with various regulations affecting product screening are the major focus which attracted over 250 SMEs in PH and 350 in Umuahia between August and October, 2026. Udofia says the main target is to reduce or totally eliminate rejection of Nigerian products at the borders and entry points of countries. The Institute worked with in collaboration with TAGDev 2.0 Programme of the University of Port Harcourt, with support from RUFORUM, and in partnership with Mastercard Foundation to mount the two-day trainings for SMEs including printers and designers on packaging, branding and compliance for consumer goods. The focus is on everything from farm to the market.

Udofia believes that Nigeria has entrepreneurs producing quality products, “Yet some struggle to compete effectively because their products are inadequately packaged, poorly branded or do not meet the requirements of the market and regulatory authorities.”

He said IEOM believes that a good product must not only be produced well; it must also be properly presented, branded, and compliant. “Packaging protects and presents the product, branding communicates its identity and value, while compliance builds consumer confidence and opens the door to formal and international markets.”

He gave a simple charge: “Do not just attend this training, use it to improve your business. Look at your packaging differently, strengthen your brand, understand your compliance obligations and begin to position your products for wider markets.

“So, we have sat down as an Institute with our partners to say, let’s see how we can make our products to compete favorably, especially in the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Nobody wants to buy rubbish. Nigeria is known for abundance of agricultural products and services. So, the essence of this program is to make sure that by the time we are done in the next few months, our products will actually be rebranded.”

Some printers need help, he stated, they copy and paste.

“We have a place in our Institute, both for processing, product development, packaging, branding, until we get to export. The entire value chain is covered.” He targets all of Nigeria but said charity must start at home.

One of the pillars of the scheme, Ibisime Etela, a professor and TAGDev 2.0 Programme Coordinator in the University of Port Harcourt, said at the PH event that the scheme is about transforming African agricultural universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development.

“It’s a Pan-African programme being implemented by 12 universities across Africa that are members of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), with headquarters in Kampala, Uganda. So, they are supporting the TAGDev 2.0 Program in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.”

He talked about three components: one that has to do with academic empowerment with 60 fully paid undergraduate scholarship programmes. The next is the community engagement, and the third component is promoting climate-smart agriculture through the programme. “We have a component for tree planting where about 500,000 trees shall be planted over a period of time. So, all these are components that have been designed to promote food security.” He said to date, they have reached about 1,200 farmers, smallholder farmers.