NICOP participates in the 8th Edition of the EU-Nigeria business forum held in Lagos from the 30th June to 1st July 2022 -organised by EuroCham and the EU.
The EU-Nigeria Business Forum provides a platform for the European Union and Nigerian businesses to increase domestic investments, improve access to the EU market, and form strategic alliances.
GIZ Cluster Coordinator for Sustainable Economic Development Cluster (SEDEC), Markus Wauschkuhn, stated that Germany would continue contributing to Nigeria’s competitive advantage through the Nigeria Competitiveness Project (NICOP). According to him, the project aims to increase Nigeria’s export potential to Europe in selected value chains of ginger, tomatoes, chilli, leather and garments.
NICOP participated in the “Down to earth roundtable – working together on the ground” panel where the project approaches and key results were highlighted in the key focal states. According to the Head of the project, Ana Vinambres, NICOP has trained farmers, off takers, and processors as well as created market linkages across the value chains while creating opportunities for access to finance leading to increased productivity, job creation, and improved livelihood.
There were world café-style exhibitions in addition to the plenary sessions on both days of the conference. The exhibition provided an avenue for six NICOP beneficiaries to showcase and promote their products to build relationships with potential investors and customers. It also gave the processors an opportunity to network and raise brand awareness and visibility for their products.
On the side-lines, NICOP engaged with some international development financial institutions (DFIs) and presented the Wholesale Impact Investment Fund (WIIF) framework to stimulate their interest with a view to participating in the set-up and running of the fund.
The Nigeria Competitiveness Project, NICOP, is implemented under the GIZ SEDIN programme and it is co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
