By Sunny Anderson Osiebe...
In his
continued quest to provide a platform for the promotion of Made in
Nigeria products in order to boost Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in
the country, Senate President, Dr Abubakar
Bukola Saraki, has informed of his plan to launch 'Made in Nigeria
Challenge' in January 2017.
Saraki,
in a statement signed by Bamikole Omisore, his special assistant on New
Media, stated that the 'Made in Nigeria Challenge' initiative will
afford entrepreneurs in the country opportunity
to connect manufacturers that produce alternatives to imported
products.
The
initiative, the Senate President stated, will not only assist upcoming
entrepreneurs but open door of opportunities for established local
manufacturers to compete in international markets.
"On
2nd of January 2017, my office will launch #MadeInNigeria challenge
to connect investors to manufacturers that produce alternatives to
imported products, since inception of the 8th Senate, we have championed
and encouraged the patronage of #MadeInNigeria
goods so as to jumpstart the economy and we have also amended the
Public Procurement Act to support this agenda.
"In
2017, we intend to take #MadeInNigeria further by using legislation to
discourage importation of goods that can be produced locally, take the
advocacy directly to Nigerians, work with
government agencies to create enabling environment and encourage
Nigerians who have eyes for local production i.e. goods that are ready
substitute to imported ones" the statement read.
"From
January 2nd 2017, using hashtag #MadeinNigeria manufacturers can
post 45 seconds to 3 minutes video of a product we are importing but
that they can produce using at least 80 per cent local content.
"Those
shortlisted will be invited to a roundtable with investors and
government agencies such as Bank of Industry (BoI), Standards
Organization of Nigeria (SON), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),
Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and so on," he said.
END
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