NIPOST to provide trade facilitation for SMEs via e-commerce
Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) said it is on the threshold of wholesome reforms and re-engineering to enhance its operations efficiency and revenue generating capacity by taking up the gauntlet to build a brand that is reliable, respectable and can be trusted.
This remark was made by the Post Master General, Barrister Bisi Adegbuyi on the occasion of EMS operational and quality improvement symposium/workshop with the theme: ‘Repositioning EMS for growth’ held in Lagos, adding that the agency was bogged down by bureaucratic bottlenecks and limited capacities for experimenting with trending as well as thriving business models that has stood the test of time in other climes.
He revealed that his coming on board the agency has ushered in tremendous improvement in quality of service which has translated into increase in traffic and revenue profile to over N2 billion.
According to him, the agency is also leveraging on the exponential growth in e-commerce which offers plethora of opportunities for greater business collaboration with medium and small scale entrepreneurs as this would go a long way in improving NIPOST revenue base, creating jobs for the unemployed and ultimately stimulating the nation’s economy.
Adegbuyi urged operators of postal services, professionals in Africa to join forces and come up with templates that would help in not only repositioning EMS, but also to working for inclusive, innovative and complete integration of the continent.
On his part, the Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu lamented that the state of postal services in Sub- Saharan African is less than ideal, having been caught in a vicious circle of poor financial performance which causes lack of investment, thereby preventing either improvement in the quality of service or expansion, generate lower usage of the sector and mail volumes, which further perpetuate the circle.
“I see a greater role for EMS in providing access for trade facilitation for Small and Medium scale enterprises through e-commerce. In spite of unfavourable economic climate in many African countries, the courier business is still one with promising prospects.
“ The time has come for us all to adopt customer oriented approaches in our operations, invest more in ICT and on training and manpower development as well as intensify our collaborations with experienced partners,” the minister said.
