From Blessing Okezie, Lagos
Exhibitors at the just-concluded Made-in-Nigeria Trade Fair, organised by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), have said that holding the event annually would help them occupy prominent places at the international business arena.
The exhibitors who stated this at the end of the three-day showpiece, appealed to the organisers to make it an annual event which they said would help them play globally especially in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The three-day Made-in-Nigeria Exhibition which took place between December 12 and 14 was part of the activities to mark 50th anniversary of SON, which was celebrated recently. The event held at the Lagos State Television exhibition ground.
Some of the over 110 exhibitors who spoke at the event told our correspondent that the exhibition enabled them to interact with one another and to know the extent to which Nigerians were making effort to be self-reliant.
They said given the size of the Nigerian market, achieving self-reliance would not only strengthen and deepen our economy; but also position the country to play a dominant role in continental market that had already taken off.
The leader of Dangote Fertilizer, a subsidiary of Dangote Group. Ifeanyi Osoego at the exhibition ground ,said he was impressed by the turn out of exhibitors at the showpiece which he said was at short notice, adding that if the organisers could make it an annual event, more companies would be around to exhibit their projects.
Another exhibitor, a small and medium enterprise operator, Mrs Regina Imoisile, said the event was encouraging, especially given the fact that it was the very first time it was being staged.
“In short, it was very successful; it was indeed a good effort by SON,” she said. As a matter of fact, I am saying that it should be a yearly event so that more people would come and showcase their products. SMEs should be encouraged to come in and exhibit because that is one of the ways to promote quality, she said.
Imoisile said she started small but her business had grown into bigger SME , adding that she would like to go beyond Nigeria and play in Africa.
A representative of Ayoola Farm limited said she liked the concept behind the exhibition because it would help to make Nigerian manufacturers conscious of the quality of goods the produce and help in attracting foreign buyers. She said should would like it to be organised every year.
The representative of Oando at the fair Mrs Oluleye, said he was glad that the exhibition held, adding that it would be good if it is held annually especially next year that his company, Oando is going to introduce new products.
However, he expressed hope that there would be improvement in the organisation next time, especially about the weather which he said was very hot.
The Director General and Chief Executive of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, said he was happy with the level of participation at the fair.
He said some exhibitors have been around from the beginning of the event adding that the exhibition was to showcase that Made-in-Nigeria products were certified quality wise.
All the products displayed at the exhibition were certified by SON.
He challenged the exhibitors to ensure they conduct their businesses in such a way that wherever they were SON would be able to vouch for them.
He said that the organization was providing proper testing of locally produced goods in order to prevent them from being rejected in foreign markets and that having worked with them over years, the organisation would always ensure that they did not have problems about the quality of their products.
“I want to congratulate you for building confidence in Nigerian consumers and ready to compete globally. I can tell you, with my experience over the years, most of the products you see here can compete anywhere in the world and people are testifying to it. I can tell you from this time to next year, what you will see will be three times bigger than what you are seeing here today.
“It is not just going to be an exhibition; we are going to call it Exhibition Market where everybody will come and also buy. I saw some of you display catalogues. We don’t you to display catalogue next year. We want you to come with full complements of your products where Nigerians can also coma and buy. That is what we look forward to.
“By early next year we will be sending the feedback to you. And what we want from you is the areas you want us to improve on; things you want us to do and we can assure you that. We are going to incorporate it in everything we are going to do during planning.
“SON has over the years put in place programmes for capacity building for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, MSME’s, with discounts, waivers and product’s certification processes for that sector to ensure the products and services offered meet the specified requirements of the Standards and can compete favourably in the international space, thereby, creating job opportunities for Nigerians.
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