NEPC Turns Retirement Into Nigeria’s Next Non-Oil Export Growth Strategy

By Olumide Johnson

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) launched the Sustainable Opportunities for Active Retirement (SOAR) programme in Abuja to prepare public servants approaching retirement for entrepreneurship in Nigeria’s non-oil export sector. The initiative will train 100 public servants who are within three years of retirement, equipping them with skills in agriculture, value addition, aggregation, logistics and export marketing. Nnoye Ayeni, Executive Director of the NEPC, recently said at the event that the programme supports the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda by enabling retirees to build export-oriented businesses and contribute to economic diversification.

DECISION HIGHLIGHT

The NEPC is repositioning retirement from a public sector exit point into a source of entrepreneurial capacity for Nigeria’s non-oil export economy.

DECISION MEMO

The SOAR programme reflects a broader policy shift that views experienced public servants as an underutilised economic resource rather than a post-employment welfare obligation. Instead of focusing solely on retirement preparedness, the initiative seeks to redirect accumulated skills and institutional experience into productive export enterprises capable of supporting Nigeria’s diversification agenda.

Ayeni said that the programme addresses the limited preparation many workers receive for post-service life while exposing participants to opportunities throughout the export value chain.

She also said: “We are opening their minds to the enormous opportunities in non-oil exports. We will groom them from farm to market so they can find their place as farmers, service providers, aggregators or exporters. Retirement is not the end of life.”

Representing the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, Kalba Usman, Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office, described the initiative as a strategic intervention capable of changing retirement from “a period of hardship to one of opportunity and fulfilment.”

Declaring the programme open, Chris Isokpokwu, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, said that economically active retirees would improve their livelihoods while stimulating entrepreneurship, creating jobs, strengthening communities and expanding Nigeria’s non-oil exports.

Arnold Jackson, Director of the State Office Coordinating Department of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, assured participants that the Council’s support would continue beyond the training through mentorship and business guidance, reinforcing the programme’s emphasis on enterprise sustainability rather than one-off capacity building.

DATA BOX

• Programme: Sustainable Opportunities for Active Retirement (SOAR)
• Lead institution: Nigerian Export Promotion Council
• Launch venue: Abuja
• First cohort: 100 public servants
• Eligibility: Public servants within three years of retirement
• Training areas:
  • Agriculture
  • Value addition
  • Aggregation
  • Logistics
  • Export marketing
• Strategic objective: Non-oil export development and economic diversification
• Post-training support: Mentorship and business guidance

WHO WINS / WHO LOSES

Winners

• Public servants approaching retirement
• Nigeria’s non-oil export value chain
• Small and medium-sized export enterprises
• Communities benefiting from new businesses and employment

Losers

• Traditional perceptions of retirement as economic inactivity
• Untapped institutional experience leaving the public service without productive redeployment

POLICY SIGNALS

• Retirement policy is increasingly being linked to enterprise development.
• Government is integrating workforce transition with export diversification.
• Non-oil exports are becoming a platform for inclusive economic participation beyond formal employment.

INVESTOR SIGNAL

The programme signals growing policy support for expanding Nigeria’s non-oil export ecosystem through entrepreneurship. A larger pool of trained export-oriented enterprises could strengthen agricultural value chains, improve supply networks and broaden opportunities for private investment across export logistics, processing and agribusiness.

RISK RADAR

• Limited access to start-up capital for programme participants
• Weak post-training enterprise survival rates
• Market access constraints for new exporters
• Inadequate coordination between training, financing and export facilitation
• External trade and logistics disruptions affecting export competitiveness