The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has expressed its desire to grow the country’s manufacturing sector by 5 percent per annum over the next four years.
MAN is currently collaborating with Manufacturing Partnerships for African Development (MPAD) to hold Nigeria Manufacturing Expo (MAN Expo) in Lagos from 15-17 March, where it hopes to meet thousands of industry experts as a way of realising that dream.
The Chairman of Economic Policy Committee (EPC) of MAN Reginald Odiah who disclosed the projected target, said, “My vision is to see a Nigerian manufacturing sector that is developing and achieving a GDP growth of 5% per annum for the next four years”.
The association called for a massive investment to take the Nigerian manufacturing sector to the next level, adding that it hopes “that the expected investment will come from two fronts – internally from local investors who will take advantage of new government policies and support via the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BOI) to expand their existing businesses and move into new areas of manufacturing.
“And then foreign investors who will want to take advantage of the new government policies and the investment climate.”
Moreover, thousands of Nigeria’s leading manufacturing experts will meet for the third annual MPAD and the inaugural MAN Expo in Lagos, which will be launched in response to the government’s commitment to industrialisation and Nigeria’s need to diversify.
Odiah added that the country is full of business opportunities that investors can tap to offset the current economic crash.
His words: “To the prospective investors, I say that Nigeria has very wide and unexploited business prospects ranging from solid mineral exploitation to Agriculture/Agro-allied sector etc.
“There are opportunities for investors that have true love and interest in investing in Nigeria. The laws of the land are becoming more liberal and investor-friendly,” he said.
He argued that 2015 was particularly a difficult year for local manufacturers, “reason being that it is an election year and the government attention was majorly drawn into electioneering and winning elections. Very little attention was paid to other sectors of the economy, especially manufacturing as is usual at these times.
“We are hoping and looking forward to government now giving more time to the real sector – Manufacturing and Agriculture. We hope to prepare ourselves working with government towards addressing the challenges of moving the real sector forward in 2016.”
-Vanguard
