With the signing of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) by President Mohammed Buhari, Chairman, NEPAD Business Group, Nigeria, Mrs Nike Akande, yesterday urged manufacturing companies to improve on the quality of their products and become competitive globally.
Akande, speaking in Lagos at the launch of First Class corporate envelopes and letterheads by an indigenous firm, FAE Limited, said as the quality of the nation’s local productions improve, local and international demand for them will increase simultaneously.
“For FAE Limited, it is clear that the organization is on the right track to ensure that Nigeria remains a force to reckon with among the comity of nations as a producing country and not as a dumping ground for goods manufactured outside its shores”, she said.
Managing Director, FAE, Princess Layo Bakare-Okeowo, noted that the launch of First Class envelopes and letter headed papers, would positively change the landscape of envelope production globally.
She added that some components of production were sourced locally with a high level of consideration for the environment.
“Our lofty desire and strategic business plan is to see the product beyond the shores of Nigeria, thus making it a major foreign exchange earner for our economy. I would like to sensitize government at various levels to institutionalise the made in Nigeria project by patronizing Nigerian manufacturers also creating the enabling environment for their businesses to thrive. This can be done by reviewing the Nigerian tax regime and investing in the power sector to improve power generation, distribution, and transmission to oil the economy”, she stressed.
