The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) today hosted a delegation from Africa Market Corner, representing TFO Canada, for a comprehensive institutional capacity assessment under the Trade for Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth (TRISEG) Project, reaffirming the Chamber's commitment to strengthening support for export-oriented Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

The assessment brought together ACCI's management, programme managers, membership services team, legal officer, and technical staff in a hybrid engagement designed to evaluate the Chamber's institutional readiness to support Nigerian businesses particularly women-led and agro-based enterprises in accessing the Canadian market and other international trade opportunities.

The exercise focused on five strategic thematic areas that are essential to enhancing export competitiveness: Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), Environmental Sustainability and Climate Resilience (ESCR), Digitalization of Trade Services, Export Readiness, and Access to Finance. Participants also conducted an in-depth review of ACCI's governance framework, institutional policies, leadership commitment, human resource capacity, monitoring and evaluation systems, training programmes, and long-term sustainability mechanisms using a structured institutional maturity assessment framework.

Speaking during the session, Dr. Tinuke Temitope, who led the ACCI team, reaffirmed the Chamber's strong commitment to building a resilient and globally competitive business ecosystem. She highlighted ACCI's robust leadership, growing integration of digital solutions into business support services, and sustained efforts to strengthen the export capacity of Nigerian enterprises. She also noted that while the assessment acknowledged the Chamber's institutional strengths, it identified opportunities to further enhance policy frameworks, dedicated funding mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation systems, and specialised technical expertise, particularly in the areas of climate resilience and access to finance.

Facilitated by Dr. Aremu Fakunle and Mr. Timilehin Abdulsalam of Africa Market Corner on behalf of TFO Canada, the session also explored strategies for institutional learning, trainer development, knowledge transfer, and continuous improvement to ensure that Nigerian businesses receive practical, high-impact support that enhances their competitiveness in international markets.

At the conclusion of the assessment, ACCI expressed appreciation to the TFO Canada and Africa Market Corner teams for their collaborative engagement and valuable insights, noting that the exercise has provided a clear roadmap for strengthening the Chamber's institutional capacity and enhancing the quality of services delivered to its members and the wider business community.

The Chamber reaffirmed its commitment to continuously improving its institutional capabilities and expanding opportunities for Nigerian businesses to access regional and international markets through strategic partnerships, innovation, and inclusive trade development.