FG calls for investment in SME training to boost African trade
The Federal Government has tasked African countries to invest more in the training of Small and Medium Enterprises to improve trade standardisation and boost the continent’s economy.
This was as the government reiterated its commitment to promoting education and technical standards as key drivers for enhancing intra-African trade.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Anite said this during the ongoing 30th General Assembly of the African Organisation for Standardisation, held in Abuja with the theme, “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century – Building a Quality Culture – One Market, One Standard.”
The event converging African minister is to discuss the challenges of technical barriers to trade in Africa through harmonisation and implementation of the African standards and conformity assessment system.
The minister, represented by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Nura Rimi, emphasised the critical role of implementing standards in fostering sustainable development, innovation, and export-oriented manufacturing, underscoring the vital link between education, sustainable development, industrialization, and trade.
She said successful and sustainable exports depend on compliance with quality requirements of standards for goods and services based on globally recognised Quality Infrastructure.
According to her, Standardisation is a cornerstone for economic efficiency, facilitating trade, and establishing trust through guaranteed specifications and quality requirements.
She said, “This theme draws my attention (I believe yours too) to the 21st Century symbiotic relationship between education, sustainable development, industrialisation and trade; with standardization being a strategic pillar for us as a government, stakeholders and as well as the standardization community in general.”
The minister stressed the need for policymakers to gain a deeper understanding of standards, especially in the context of rapidly advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Anite further emphasised the need to equip African youth with relevant skills to foster innovation among small and medium-sized enterprises which is crucial for achieving Africa’s industrial development and integration agenda.
She added, “This meeting also points out the need to equip the African youth with relevant skills and SMEs with innovative tendencies needed for the 21st Africa’s Industrial Development and Integration Agenda as provided under the AfCFTA to create awareness on the role of standardisation in sustainable development to catch up with the rest of the world.”