The president of Africa Business Council (ABC), Dr. Amany Asfour, is seeking better partnership between Egyptian and Nigerian businesses in various aspects, including halal industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and vaccine production, among others.
She advocated this when she paid a courtesy call on the director-general of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Victoria Akai, at the chambers headquarters in Abuja.
Asfour, the immediate past president of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, was at the chambers to advocate the upscale of activities on trade between Nigeria and other African countries and to commend ACCI on its efforts in supporting women-owned and led businesses.
She extended invitation to the members of ACCI to attend the 12th African Union Private Sector Forum scheduled to hold from November 10-12, 2021, in Cairo, Egypt.
The event which is held in collaboration with African Congress for Women and Youth Entrepreneurs scheduled to hold on November 8 and 9, 2021, is themed – ‘Strengthening African private sector capacity to respond to disrupted markets and ensure economic resilience in the face of COVID-19 pandemic’.
In her response, Akai intimated the delegates on the activities of the chamber and its centres, saying its management had the interest of women in business at heart and gave maximum support to women’s businesses.
The DG informed the delegates about the Arahah Market initiative of the chamber, explaining that one of the objectives of the market was to reach out to women-owned and led businesses by creating opportunities for market access, information and capacity building, commercial dispute resolution, advocacy and business networking, amongst others.
She sought the partnership and support of the ABC, stating that, “the market is young and we are seeking partnership with you to leverage on opportunities to grow.”
Describing the market as a hybrid market, she said “we are launching the market access application on July 3, 2021 together with our partners, Women Arise Development Humanitarian Initiative (WADHI), targeted at reaching out to women,” adding it is a potent platform for us to key into AfCFTA.
She also introduced them to the upcoming Halal Expo which she said was meant to establish opportunities for halal businesses and also help establish more halal compliant manufacturing industries, “seeing that Nigeria has a population of over 100 million Muslims and there is the need for halal friendly businesses to further contribute to economic growth.”
“We appreciate your efforts in advocating and promoting vaccine production in Nigeria and Africa, the establishment of vaccine production plants in Africa is an industry that is long overdue,” she added.
On the delegation with the president of Africa Business Council were representatives of the Federation of Business Professional Women (BPW) Nigeria led by the national president, Yinka Ajibola, together with the BPW Premier Club president, Mrs Chika Offor among others.
Also present at the meeting were ACCI council member, Amina Akai, and the director, best centre, Dr. Tinuke Temitope.
