THE Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has urged entrepreneurs in South-East geopolitical zone of the country to participate in the federal government’s Export Development Fund (EDF) scheme.
Mr Arnold Jackson, NEPC’s South-East Regional Coordinator, made the call on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu. He said the scheme was aimed at developing and promoting non-oil export, adding that it was a fallout of the Export Expansion Facility under the National Economic Sustainability Plan.
Stating that the scheme incorporated the revival and launching of the EDF as an incentive to boost export, Mr Jackson said the EDF was set up to provide technical and operational capacity to indigenous firms, especially, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The fund, he said, comes in the form of grants to expand local content and value addition to raw materials before exporting and that the scheme was also designed to provide assistance through reimbursable grants to Nigerian companies or entities that intend to export goods and services.
Registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission and NEPC were some of the prerequisites needed to benefit from the scheme, he said, revealing that online submission of applications opened on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 and would run through Monday, April 19, 2021. He advised interested applicants to send their applications through the NEPC website.
