If you ask Nigerian exporters what they need to expand their businesses, they say “information.” How do I sell my product in this market? Who are the buyers? What are the standards for imports? Under a two-year program managed by Nathan Associates and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Nigerian exporters can now get answers to these and other questions.

The Nigeria Expanded Export Program (NEEP) was launched in Lagos, Nigeria, on March 3, 2010, to stimulate growth in Nigerian exports by providing technical assistance and by improving firms, access to trade financing. The opening ceremony was attended by the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Renee Sanders; the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr. David Adulugba; and more than 70 exporters, who were informed about the program’s services.

During the ceremony, Ambassador Sanders noted that “knowledge is power” and congratulated NEEP for organizing its first-ever technical training event on how to use market intelligence to expand exports. The training, which followed the launch ceremony, showed exporters how to acquire market intelligence and integrate it into business plans. Case studies of how exporters in other developing countries had used market intelligence left Nigerian exporters confident that assistance through NEEP will help them successfully enter and thrive in new markets.

NEEP is a project under the Nathan-managed TCBoost project. For more information, visit the project website at www.nigeriaexport.org