standards, limited access to finance,
inadequate application of technology, poor
skills etc. need to be addressed. One key
lesson to learn from Taiwan and the
United States as we promote Made in
Nigeria is to identity our niche, invest in
innovation, research and development and
to get maximum value out of our products
by protecting our intellectual property
through patents and operational systems.
One sector that needs to be addressed as
a matter of urgency is the Cotton, Textile
and Garment sector a critical economic
sector. The global fashion industry is
currently at $1.1 trillion and represents 2%
of the world GDP. It is however estimated
to reach $2 trillion by 2020. Despite
Nigeria‘s love for fashion among its 170
million people, the country has no
significant presence in the global apparel
trade. Intact, no item from the sector
features amongst Nigeria‘s first 24
exported products in 2015. On the flipside,
Nigeria‘s import bill for apparel, related
articles, cotton and footwear from China
was over $1.6 billion in 2015. This huge
market can be satisfied by Made in Nigeria
products that can also be traded abroad.
Nigerians import apparel from overseas for
a number of reasons- including cost, quality
and choice options. I recall I was
approached sometime back by an
American lady who wanted to know what
we wear as daily work clothes in Nigeria.
Now, most women will relate to my
answer I told her I wear Western suits or
dresses because I could not afford the cost
for traditional clothes as my daily work
outfit. I wore those mostly on special
occasions. Besides being more expensive
because of the amount Of time put into
the production of one outfit, as there is an
absence of economies of scale, there is also
the very predominant problem of non-
standardization. Meaning that most women
have the hassle of maintaining and dealing
with several tailoring outfits and manage all
forms of disappointments. This costs time.
Money and emotions!
In 2015, in my role as Technical Advisor to
Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian
Export Promotion Council, I coordinated
the participation of Nigerian brands to the
world‘s largest apparel sourcing event in
Las Vegas. There was a real buzz and thrill
for our products, they were described as
‗Chic‘ and Hollywood. That event was an
opener for our people… while the designs
were outstanding our people needed to
learn more about pricing, finishing, brand
positioning, marketing.
The fashion sector in Nigeria with its high
potential for inclusive economic growth
along its entire value chain has a number of
challenges. The problems begin at the point
of primary production and run through the
entire value chain. In the last few years, the
production of cotton has been minimal.