NEPC Reiterates Support for Non-oil Exports as IT Firm Eyes $28bn Online Recruitment Market

James Emejo

The Executive Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Dr. Ezra Yakusak, has said that the council would continue to partner with any institution that is readily available to stimulate innovation through information technology and other IT-enabled solutions in supporting the federal government’s non-oil export drive.

To this end, he said the council had set up Youths Export Development Desks in all the state offices across the country to fast-track the promotion of non-oil export activities, especially in the digital space.

The NEPC boss disclosed this at the unveiling of the Yard Mobile and Web App, which is a discourse platform aimed at digitalising the employment process with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to merge talents with organisations and agencies across the globe.

Represented by the NEPC Deputy Director, National Export Office, Andy Ambikputen, Yakusak specifically commended the company’s Chief Executive/developer, Mr. Anderson Idoko, for the digital innovation aimed at providing solutions that are scalable, proven, secure, and easy to use and support business growth.

He said the country remained well-positioned as the biggest economy in Africa and one of the largest youth populations in the world, to develop a strong economy that would have a transformational impact through the growth of digital innovation and entrepreneurship which is essential for the creation of an ecosystem for innovation-driven enterprises.

He pointed out that “As trade improves economic efficiency and contributes to poverty reduction, ICT can also promote economic and social development”, adding that trade and ICT have great potential to reduce poverty by improving, among other things, the production and sale of goods and services.

He said the solution also provides opportunities in online e-learning, whose global market value was estimated at about $250 billion in 2020 adding that the learning management system market generated about $1.22 billion in the same period.

The platform also offers resources for freelance whose global market worth is estimated at about $2.35 billion in 2018 and estimated to reach $6.7 billion by the end of 2025.