About Us
NPNEN is a not-for profit organization registered under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
NPNEN is a platform for collaboration among different actors in the export value chain, with a focus
on MSMEs. The membership of NPNEN includes MSMEs producing or aspiring to produce for export,
logistics companies, produce aggregators, financial institutions, private certification bodies, trade
support public institutions, etc.
NPNEN is an offshoot of the series of dialogues under the Non-Oil Exporter Community of Practice
which is an initiative of the DFID supported Policy Development Facility II (PDF-II). Under this platform,
PDF-II organized series of Non-Oil Export Dialogues aimed at eliminating the various barriers to nonoil exports in Nigeria, with special focus on MSMEs. The Dialogue series which focused on bringing
stakeholders together, addressed such issues as access to finance, product quality and standards,
export procedures and documentations, etc. Besides bringing the relevant MDAs in dialogue with the
private sector actors, the Dialogue series also devoted special sessions to building the capacity of nonoil exporters on advocacy so as to enable them continue to engage the relevant MDAs on issues of
interest to non-oil exporters.
Within the Community of Practice, a number of business to business networking and collaboration
happened, leading to joint export initiatives, information sharing and handholding. In view of these
and other benefits as well as the need for sustainability beyond the PDF-II intervention, the Non-Oil
Export Community of Practice transformed into a standing business membership organization that
will continue to sustain the outcomes of PDF II interventions.
THE GAP WE SEEK TO FILL
NPNEN was borne out of the need to amplify the voices of MSME non-oil exporters in the making and implementation of policies that affect them. Years of government pronouncements on expanding non- oil efforts have not been matched with commensurate commitment in policy and process reforms, Government needs to consult with the MSMEs in setting policies affecting exports, but this has hardly been the case. There is a critical need to balance the voice and interest of the big businesses with the voice and interest of the MSMEs in the formulation and implementation of government policies affecting the private sector. At the moment, most policies seem skewed in favor of politically connected businesses, to the detriment of MSME exporters. NPNEN represents the voice and interest of MSMEs in the export value chain with the view to improving the performance of non-oil exports in Nigeria. The areas of focus would include access to finance, standards and certification, market access, port processes, export logistics, etc. Some of the methods that would be adopted towards realizing our goals include periodic public private dialogues, studies, targeted advocacy, media engagements, presentation of well researched position papers on matters of interest, etc.