Secondly, there is no spinning capacity in
Nigeria and that also means no versatility.
Therefore our designers will rely on
imported materials to produce apparels.
Thirdly, there is limited availability of
industrial skills for garment production.
This is one of the main problems identified
by a study jointly commissioned by the
United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) and NEPC in 2015.
These skills range from industrial
engineering,
plant
and
machinery
engineering, machinist. Tailoring, pattern
making, factory management.
The absence of industrial garment
production orientation is the main reason
that Nigeria is not receiving interests like
other countries in Africa such as Ethiopia,
Mauritius and Rwanda where products for
brands like H&M. Calvin Klein, Harrods,
Tommy
Hilfiger
etc.
are
being
manufactured. Mauritius for instance. has
concentrated on the apparel sector as a
main economy driver over tour decades.
attracting over $1 billion in Foreign Direct
Investment and creating 45000 jobs In
2015 the country made S933Million from
apparel exports which represented 43% of
the country‘s exports.
Made-in-Nigeria: The Way Forward
For Nigeria, things can change. One of the
main challenges, infrastructure is being
addressed by the Federal Government
through its Industrial Clusters/parks in
each of the six geopolitical zones initiative
spearheaded by the Ministry of Industry,
trade and investment, This model has been
tested in other climes and should provide
the necessary buffers to facilitate
manufacturing. To make this much more
effective will be to links these clusters with
growth plans for specific sectors, so that
targets can be set and monitored arid
consistent high standards achieved.
On the business side, there are a number
of jobs and skill sets required along value
chains, As with the case in Ethiopia,
government and private sector will need to
work together to address the skills
requirement for sectors and if necessary
go back to the education and training
curriculum to update them for today‘s
needs Sector players should begin to apply
specialization orientations to the way of
doing business. This way, they can grow
expertise and then scale up. As we
promote Made in Nigeria for Nigeria and
the rest the world, we need to carve our
niche. Create and promote strong brands
and articulate a value proposition that
inspires trust in our products and the
brand Nigeria, bearing in mind that trade is
buyer driven and technology has made
possible for consumers to easily access a
wide range of options and choice.