The Nationwide Centre for Expertise Administration (NACETEM) on Wednesday mentioned that Nigeria leather-based business had the potential to generate over one billion {dollars} by 2025.
Mrs Maryanne Onyejekwe, the South-West Zonal Coordinator, NACETEMNACETEM, made this identified at its Analysis Output Convention 2024 held in Lagos.
The Information Company of Nigeria (NAN) stories that the theme of the convention was, “Leather-based Sector Evaluation and Native Content material Coverage Research.”
Onyejekwe mentioned that Nigeria was the best producer of leather-based and completed leather-based merchandise in Africa.
She added that Nigeria was not solely the biggest producer of leather-based in Africa, however that its leather-based ranked among the many highest high quality leather-based discovered globally.
Based on her, the business generates about $600 million to $800 million yearly, therefore, the subsector generally is a key driver of Nigeria’s financial progress and improvement.
“Additionally, the leather-based processing and fabricating business aligns completely with nationwide objectives by actively contributing to the nation’s industrialisation efforts.
“To unlock its progress potential and overcome challenges, the leather-based processing and leather-based fabricating business in Nigeria can discover worldwide collaboration and funding alternatives.
“Expertise switch and collaboration with worldwide companions can facilitate the switch of superior tanning applied sciences and greatest practices.
“Worldwide collaboration may help leather-based processing companies acquire entry to the worldwide market, partnerships with overseas distributors and retailers can open doorways to new buyer base,’’ she mentioned.
Talking about native content material within the subsector, Onyejekwe famous that its improvement and utilisation in all sectors of the nation’s financial system would improve employment ratio geometrically.
Onyejekwe, who was additionally a director in NACETEM, mentioned that native content material would stimulate worth creation and addition, and in addition enhance the per capita revenue of the important mass of its labour pressure.
READ ALSO: ‘If nicely structured, the leather-based business can contribute considerably to Nigeria’s GDP’
Based on her, it’s within the mild of the advantages of native content material that the Federal Authorities handed into legislation the Petroleum Trade Act (PIA) and by extension and most germane to the discourse, the Presidential Govt Order 5.
She mentioned that the Presidential Govt Order 5 was to develop, promote and implement native content material and Made-In-Nigeria Items and Providers (MNGS).
She mentioned that native content material improvement was important for financial progress and improvement of the nation, including that it was extra aptly so within the face of dwindling financial fortunes and rising unemployment.
The director famous that Nigeria was extra dedicated to its industrialisation efforts and decreasing its dependence on Oil.
Onyejekwe mentioned that native content material by way of manpower, uncooked supplies, applied sciences and equipment for Made-In-Nigeria Items and Providers (MNGS) supplied the required trajectory to changing into an industrialised nation.
“It can additionally guarantee a significant shift from a consuming to a producing nation, thereby rising import substitution and the nation’s Gross Home Product (GDP), entrenching financial diversification, and impacting overseas alternate.”
In her presentation, Mrs Olayemi Dickson, Assistant Chief Analysis Officer, NACETEM, mentioned that Nigeria’s Leather-based was extremely demanded in Italy, Spain, India, China, amongst others.
Dickson mentioned that leather-based exporting corporations in Nigeria produce over 8,000 jobs with export worth of about $272 million in 2022.
Based on her, with a view to meet up with worldwide and native calls for, the leather-based companies in Nigeria require a excessive stage of technological functionality.
“Technological functionality embrace agency stage technological functionality and nationwide stage technological functionality.
“Agency stage functionality features a agency’s particular assortment of kit, expertise, information, attitudes and aptitudes wanted to decide on, set up, function, keep, perceive, adapt, enhance and develop applied sciences.
“However, nationwide stage technological functionality is the gathering of particular person firm-level capabilities,” Dickson defined.
In his presentation, Assistant Director, Analysis, NACETEM, Dr Victor Sobanke, mentioned that the leather-based business made up about 24 per cent of the Agricultural Sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP.
Sobanke mentioned that sadly, regardless of the potential of the business, the productiveness of the sector was reducing with unsophisticated know-how leading to substandard and low-quality leather-based merchandise.
He mentioned: “In truth, Nigeria is a internet importer of completed leather-based merchandise of about $500 million yearly.
“Nigeria must convert its leather-based assets to trendy completed merchandise which can be aggressive on the planet’s trend markets.’’
Assistant Director, NACETEM, Dr Mirabel Omoruyi, in her presentation, highlighted the significance of consciousness to native content material practices in Nigeria.
Omoruyi mentioned that Ministries, Departments and Businesses (MDAs) had common to high-level consciousness; whereas non-public companies are mentally conscious however lacked in-depth understanding of its working particulars.
She beneficial that related MDAs and stakeholders embark on vigorous creation of better consciousness about native content material insurance policies and its provisions, to sensitise private and non-private sector organisations.
Additionally, the Head, Media and Publicity, NACETEM, Dr Olutunde Babalola, mentioned in his presentation that the most important challenges to native content material adoption are low technical experience, insufficient infrastructures and out of date native applied sciences within the MDAs.
Babalola mentioned that personal companies had low technical experience, low industrial capability, substandard high quality of made-in-Nigeria items, superior substitutes, and so on.
He mentioned that different challenges had been multinational companies favouring overseas substitutes, paperwork in acquiring permits and licenses, substandard high quality, out of date native applied sciences, insufficient infrastructures amongst others.
Babalola emphasised the necessity for consciousness, whereas recommending constructing the capability of Nigerian consultants or employees and offering enough industrial and infrastructural services.
The pinnacle of media mentioned that different suggestions included enhancing the standard of Nigerian items and companies and growing a stronger industrial tradition with complementary forward-looking laws.
He reiterated the necessity to create consciousness of native content material coverage and its advantages.
The Director-Normal, NACETEM, Dr Olusola Odusanya, mentioned that a number of the evaluation completed in current occasions indicated that amongst a neighborhood of countries with similarities with Nigeria, one error Nigeria dedicated was missing an industrialisation focus and export orientation.
Odusanya mentioned that because of which most industries in Nigeria began going through issues when the native financial system began going through issues.
Based on him, if Nigeria has an industrialisation plan and give attention to export, it’ll have a sustenance mechanism that permits its industries to thrive.
The NACETEM boss mentioned: “If, we had a export and industrialisation focus with the rubber business, we’d have ensured and had a state of affairs the place tyres, truck tyres, inside tubes and all of the auxiliary supplies produced from rubber can have been worldwide merchandise moderately than native merchandise.
“So, there’s a want for an aggressive reorganisation of your entire industrialisation system of Nigeria.”
NAN stories that the spotlight of the occasion was the launch of a ebook by the NACETEM analysis crew.
