Dr Kenechukwu Nnamani is the chief executive officer of Kvas Group, which has been involved in various businesses including exportation of Agric produce from Nigeria to China, fashion, hospitality and others in the last seven years. In this interview with ANTHONY ADA ABRAHAM , the young entrepreneur talks about how he's using his China2Nigeria online and offline platform in getting products from verified factories to China and why the government must support his likes.


Since the coming of the President Muhammadu Buhari's administration, one of his cardinal focus has been on Agriculture. Can you tell us as someone who is an expert in this field, is there anything to be proud of this sector?

There is no Laudable effort to improve agriculture. Considering the increase in food shortage in the country, farmers have been put in a tight position where they can’t even think agriculture at the moment because the foundation to help them improve on their farming has not been executed by the government. Government no doubt has approved loans to different farmers through bank of agriculture but these loans are frequently gotten by mostly the influential people in Nigeria. For us to improve the agric sector, the communities are the key targets. If the local farmer can’t access loans, good road network for moving their products, no arrangement for shifting cultivation or steady fertilizer support from the government then our agric sector will stay undeveloped. There is no proper output plan for the nation, No steady fertilizer intervention plan for farmers. I strongly think there is nothing to be proud of in this sector

Your China2Nigeria trade has become a household name, tell us basically what it's all about and what positive response(s) have you received?

China2Nigeria is an online and offline platform for getting all sorts of items from verified factories in China. We have been consulted severally by different people who would like to diversify into different kinds of business, China2Nigeria consults and helps them get their ideas to reality. This is not only an online and offline way of getting quality items from China to Nigeria but a way for Chinese companies to visit Nigeria and invest in our economy. We have successfully helped different companies in China grow their partner database through China2Nigeria. We introduce different sectors to their chamber of commerce and advertise key opportunities where they can come to invest. China2Nigeria also helps to strengthen the relationship with China by helping different sectors of business and government to strengthen sister city relationships. A country like Nigeria needs technical partners in different sectors. This will help our growth, economy and develop the skills of young Nigerians with talents. Imagine having a country where a particular state is known for developing a mobile phone from scratch to finish. This is one of what we want to achieve as China2Nigeria.


Nigerian farmers have been groaning for lack of a channel or should I say, a middleman to showcase their products. As a link between Nigeria and the outside world when it comes to exportation, how can one access your company and how affordable is it?

Finding offtakers is the most difficult part in exporting agro products. Example: We once signed a 2 years agreement to export peanut to China and the specifications were obtainable in Kano and Chad. The major challenge we faced was the Chinese government banned peanut from Nigeria to China and the only option was to get from Senegal. Senegalese peanut was already booked by different offtakers in Singapore and Indonesia so it was difficult getting the required quantity for our buyers due to the ban. Just like every other sector agro export requires government relationships with other buying powers. Without that, other countries will create policies that will only favor counterparts with stronger ties. We are bridging this gab seriously in partnership with different country ambassadors to Nigeria. We don’t put a price tag to this service because it varies. Sometimes we facilitate export between farmers and offtakers and get a commission off it. This makes it convenient for a farmer to sell at a good price and buyers remain interested and not get scared away.

Many Agro products are being damaged due to lack of preservatives. Does your company provide means of preservation for farmers whose products are to be exported or you just serve as a link between the farmers and the outside world?

Regarding this issue in preservative, what we do as a company is research purchasing specifications of different countries and supply it to farmers for free. Before you talk about preservative you have to talk about specification. If any offtaker has a specification that requires a certain preservative then it becomes clear to the farmer on how to achieve that. Sometimes offtakers help with whatever is needed to get their goods to its final destinations safely by themselves and just focus on commodity purchase but this will in turn reduce the value or profit the farmer would likely make out if the supply.

Do you have specific product(s) you export or you are into everything agro?

Agro is already a specific sector and we are focused on agro as a whole. We keep profiling different agro products depending on the target consumer market demands.



You know sometimes when people indulge in your kind of export business, even though the Nigerian government have continued to clamour that they support your kind,would you say you have a cordial relationship with them when it comes to export duties?
To be honest I haven’t really tried to get any support from the government. Working with the government especially in Nigeria has a way of delaying things. I would strongly need the government to work with me in negotiation export ban that has been put on some of our agro products. This can only be done by the minister and it’s difficult to ascertain if this is one of their priorities.


How important is China2Nigeria and agro export to the agricultural sector in Nigeria?.
China2Nigeria is very different from agro export from Nigeria. China2Nigeria is simply an initiative to help consumers get products without facing hassles of price inflations, meeting technical partners in different industries, vocational opportunities and finding various kinds of investors. Our agro export initiative is all about Nigeria alone. Getting our agro products to be consumed by other countries.

What would be your advice to the Nigerian government as it pertains agricultural export?

My advise to the government is that they should understand the private sector is highly needed to move agriculture to the next level in Nigeria. If the private sectors are not empowered, if good policies are not in place, it would be difficult to improve this sector.
Every part of Nigeria has one thing or the other that they can produce. There should be output targets for each state agric department. The states should improve their agro relationships within Nigerian counterparts. Why should we buy bad palm oil in Abuja when Ebonyi produces quality palm. There should be an internal trade policy that can help us consume agro products from known producing states. Land barrenness is not tackled well in the country. Farmers use same land over and over again. This reduces the quality of products to be gotten from that land. Either government makes sure of steady supply of fertilizer at subsidized rates or implement policies on shifting cultivation. A country without a good storage reserve will also face different kinds of food shortage problems. Without agriculture, there will be hunger. To improve the national security, we also need to reduce hunger. A hungry man is an angry man. An angry man is a threat to well fed man.