By Our Reporter
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has reiterated its commitment to support potential exporters in the South-East region to participate in export activities.
The South-East Regional Coordinator of the NEPC, Mr Arnold Jackson disclosed this on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ forum organised by the council for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators in Enugu.
Jackson said that the council had set out to reawaken the consciousness of SMEs owners in the region to take advantage of the various investment incentives to grow their businesses.
The regional coordinator also said that the coming into effect of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement had made it more compelling for entrepreneurs to launch their products in the global market.
He, however, expressed concern that the activities of SMEs operators domiciled in the region were not very visible in the international market due to obvious challenges.
Jackson called for experience sharing and collaboration between the entrepreneurs and relevant agencies in the export industry in the region.
In a presentation, the State Coordinator, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu, Mr Bennett Agu, said that the Federal Government had directed the implementation of tax waivers and incentives for business owners.
Agu said that small businesses with a return of below N20million was currently on tax holidays while medium enterprises were charged 20 per cent on income tax.
The FIRS coordinator said that big businesses were on 30 per cent income tax.
He said that there were lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses but expressed concern that such openings were not exploited.
“This is because a good number of the entrepreneurs shy away from reporting their true financial positions, thereby, jettisoning the idea of taking loans and other incentives.
“We have taken measures to make FIRS friendly,” he said.
Agu said that entrepreneurs with less than N30, 000 earning were not supposed to pay any form of tax, including local government levies.
Also, a representative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olumide Gbolahan, said that the apex bank had no fewer than 30 products in its agricultural intervention scheme.
Gbolahan, however, expressed concern that the number of beneficiaries of such incentives from the South-East region was comparatively low.
He noted that credit was demand driven, adding that most people tend to wait for the CBN to bring such products to their doorsteps.
Also, a representative of NEXIM Bank, Mr Kingsley Osifo, said it was necessary to profile potential exporters in the South-East in order to make it easier for them to be easily identifiable.
Osifo said that almost every potential exporter in Enugu lacked means of collateral, especially , Certificates of Occupancy that would qualify them to access loans.
He, however, appealed to such people to come together in order to find a way around those challenges.
Ikengaonline reports that the forum was attended by representatives of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) among others.
