The Imo Government, in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC), has launched a digital entrepreneurship project called  “Inclusive Digital Entrepreneurship in the Agri-Food Sector (IDEAS).

Imo Governor, Hope Uzodinma, performed the launching of the project in Owerri.

The governor, represented by the state’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Simon Ebegbulem, said the E – Commerce project, sponsored by the Japanese Government through the ITC, was in line with the state government’s commitment to trade and business.

He thanked the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for piloting the initiative and stated his support for the project.

 “ To show our commitment to E-Commerce, we recently  launched the Skill-Up Imo, an initiative which has trained over 30,000 youths in digital marketing and other skills.

A representative of the ITC, Mr Ikuru Nogami, an Associate Programme Officer at the centre, said the promotion of E-Commerce remained a hallmark of the Japanese Government.

 “ Promoting inclusive e-commerce remains part of our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

 “ Regardless of gender or age, beneficiaries of the project will be able to digitise products sales for optimal profit,” he said.

Also, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Anite, represented by Nigeria’s Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, Mr Adamu Abdulhamid, said the project was aimed at training producers and exporters on digital ways of identifying product markets, advertising and selling them.

Anite urged entrepreneurs and exporters to take advantage of the project to get sufficient knowledge to improve businesses in Imo and the rest of the Southeast region.

Imo Coordinator of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Anthony Ajuruchi, thanked the ITC and the ministry for putting the project together and urged exporters in the state to utilise the project to further push their products into the international market.