Stakeholders at the Nigeria Employee Summit 2023 repeatedly emphasized the necessity for the government to give exporters in the nation fiscal incentives so they may compete internationally.
They claim that when compared to nations like Kenya and South Africa, the cost of doing business in Nigeria is relatively expensive. They assert that the advantages offered will allow exporters to produce and sell favorably on the international market.
Speaking on the sidelines of the occasion, Odiri Erewa-Meggisson, Acting Chairman of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria Exporters Group, said: “It is important that the incentives given to exporters go into the budget for the year, it should not come in the last minute when the government said there are no funds for such. So, how does government put a budget in place such that when you qualify for the incentives there will be a budget in place that can help you sell your products?”
“The cost of doing business in Nigeria is tough when compared to other part of the world. So, there is a need for incentives to enable exporters to compete more favorably with other countries. Exporters must get access to foreign exchange to enable them but their raw materials and machinery.”
Meggison, who is also the director of external affairs for British American Tobacco West and Central Africa, emphasized the necessity of harmonizing regulatory bodies in order to lessen the obstacles that exporters must overcome. She also said that exporters must be supported in order to lessen the difficulties they encounter when trying to export their products.
