Thank you for attending the July edition of the Talking Trade webinar.
The theme was “Export for Survival – Market Access Imperatives”. Please see below for the full recording of the webinar, the individual presentations of the speakers and the discussion video.
Thanks – Talking Trade Team
Mr Olufemi Boyede, CITP – Lead Speaker
CEO KGS & FemiBoyede Consulting -Convener & Host Talking Trade Webinars
Talking Trade Webinar – July 2022 Edition: “Theme: Export for Survival – Market Access Imperatives”.
Date: Saturday, July 2nd 2022.
Time: 12 noon ET (US & Canada) 5 pm (West Africa Time)
Lead Speaker: Olufemi Boyede, CITP. Convener of Talking Trade Webinars.
- Co-Panellists:
- Mr Henry Otowo: Chairman/CEO of Emiene lntertrade Limited.
- Bosun Solarin: Founder and Owner, Dasun Integrated Farms Ltd and DIFL Foods.
Moderator/Anchor: Lady Kay
Host/Convener : Olufemi Boyede, CITP
The lead speaker Mr Olufemi Boyede, CITP, will lead the discussion based on the serious issues exporters face with suggested solutions for easier market access. The co-panellists will be exploring the various facilities needed to improve international market access for exporters. They will also discuss various aspects of government agencies’ role in enhancing market access for Nigerian products.
Co-Panellists' Profile & Bio
Profile
Mr Henry Ogli Otowo is a Peace Ambassador and Certified Management Consultant who retired from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) as Director, International Export Office, in May 2016.
He is currently the Chairman/CEO of Emiene lntertrade Limited, a company engaged in the hospitality industry, Agriculture and consultancy in international
trade with a focus on export trade.
He has held the following portfolios:
1. Commercial Attache/Head, Nigeria Commercial Desk, Embassy of Nigeria, East
Berlin, East Germany, 1990.
2. Commercial Attache/Head, Nigeria Commercial Desk, Embassy of Nigeria,
Warsaw, Poland, 1991.
3. Trade Commissioner/Head, Nigeria Trade Centre, Embassy of Nigeria, Brussels,
Belgium, 1992-1995.
4. Zonal Controller, NEPC Zonal Office, Akure, Ondo State.
5. Zonal Controller, NEPC Zonal Office, Minna, Niger State.
6. Special Assistant/Head, Office of the Executive Director/CEO, NEPC
Headquarters, Abuja, 2009-2010.
7. Director, Incentives Directorate, NEPC Headquarters, Abuja, 2010-2012.
8. Director, Product Development Department, NEPC Headquarters, Abuja, 2012
2014.
9. Director, International Export Office, NEPC Headquarters, Abuja, 2014, 2016.
10. He is the only Nigerian appointed by the Federal Government as Director of
3 Universal World Expositions in Serville, Spain,(1992) Hanover Germany, 2000, and Nagoya, Japan, 2005.
11. He has led and coordinated Nigeria’s participation In many international trades
promotion programs, bilateral/multilateral meetings worldwide.
Mr Henry Otowo: Chairman/CEO of Emiene lntertrade Limited
12. He is a member of the following professional bodies:
(i) Member, Institute of Directors (MloD)
(ii) Fellow, Chartered Institute of Administration CFCP.
(iii) Fellow, Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC).
(iv) Fellow, Institute of Management Specialists (FIMS)(UK).
(v) Certified Management Consultant (CMC).
Bosun Solarin : Founder owner, Dasun Integrated Farms Ltd and DIFL Foods
Bosun Solarin is a farmer, agro-business enthusiast, farmer and exporter. She is the owner/founder of Dasun Integrated Farms Ltd, which also trades as DIFL FOODS Ltd.
Her early days saw her working as a manager at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, from which she retired voluntarily in 2004. Upon her retirement, she immediately set up and founded her own dry cleaning and laundry business – Laundry Ideals Services Ltd, which she ran actively till 2019.
Following her initial HND obtained the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro. She attended various courses and holds certificates in Entrepreneurial Advocacy and Management, Organic Foods, Agri-processing, Export Quality Management & Food Safety.
However, in 2017, as a passionate innovator, ever willing to try new things, Mrs Solarin decided to venture into agriculture. She founded Dasun Integrated Farms Ltd and started her new journey into farming with plantain as her initial primary produce.
Today, DIFL Foods has developed 35 products. The most popular are the plantain flour and turmeric, ginger and garlic mix. She also supplies a wide variety of food items, including catfish, crayfish and honey.
Mrs Solarin is currently the Chairperson, Export Group, Lagos Chamber Commerce and Industry (LCCI)and also a member of the Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria – SMEDAN and the Lagos State MSME.
She has attended many trade fairs, including:
- the She Trades Digital Forum EVENT 10X – February 2021
- Lagos International Trade Fair – December 2021; November 2021
- And Lagos MSME Exclusive Fair
Mrs Solarin is married with children.
About The Talking Trade Webinars
The Talking Trade with Femi Boyede Webinars has been set up to discuss, in a professional manner, all the angles related to the various issues that a firm, an individual, or a country can expect to confront as they design, implement or modify their strategic processes to manage global trade. It is a virtual platform for engaging discussions on international trade; its components, the values international trade offers to individuals, corporations, and countries, such as the reduction of poverty, creation of employment, increased corporate profitability and the growth of national economies, among others.
Expected Outputs and Outcomes
The outputs of the Trade Webinar series will include:
a. Webinar Report: A summary of key findings and policy recommendations distilled from each session, combinations of sessions, papers, and keynote speeches.
b. The proceedings of the webinars, incorporating relevant comments and feedback from peer review and webinar participants will be published after the episode or quarter.
c. Presentation of these findings and recommended solutions will be made to relevant governments agencies, ministries and parastatals as well as other identified stakeholders.
d. Our inhouse team will track results of the webinar series, and make updates available to subscribers and stakeholders.
The Moderator /Anchor
Kemi Amusan popularly known as Lady Kay is a linguist (French and English), an Editor, a Crisis Prevention Intervention Trainer and a community leader (leading several thousands of blacks) as the immediate past president of the Nigerian-Canadian Association in Greater Toronto Area, Canada. She currently works as an Assistant Registrar in a great university in the Caribbean. Lady Kay gives back to the community as the Senior Advocate of Global Women Ambassadors, Canada. In this role, she organizes programs to educate, elevate and facilitate many socio-cultural, entrepreneurship, immigration, educative, empowerment programs for families. Lady Kay is also the host of Agbajo Owo and Ask Lady Kay – the broadcasting arms of Global Women Ambassadors that seek to ‘build the community, one family at a time’.
The Host /Convener
Olufemi Boyede, CITP has over thirty years of professional experience in international trade and strategy, policy advocacy and human capital development. He has broad expertise in trade and business environment improvement, regional integration frameworks, trade linkages, services exports, public-private dialogue and advocacy on non-oil exports and enterprise development issues.
He has a strong background in private sector management positions and consulting roles in the business, trade and logistics communities, and more recently has held numerous senior trade and export development positions in Nigeria’s public and private sectors. In addition to several Consultancy assignments with International Agencies including the World Bank, DFID, GIZ, USAID, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC).
‘Femi’s 30 years of international trade expertise places him in a leveraged position to provide professional advice to worldwide with clients (both importers and exporters) helping them to successfully navigate the day to day complexities of the international trade industry.
His passion to increase awareness and equip international trade stakeholders forms the basis for these series of webinars.