Africa’s most populous nation’s goal of achieving the ‘Go Local’ — prioritising locally made products — dream is being crippled by an array of challenges, including logistics and skyrocketing energy costs.
This was echoed at the gathering of manufacturers in Lagos on Tuesday at BusinessDay’s Go Local Summit, themed, ‘Go Local: From Raw Material to Market Power’.
At a power-packed panel session, manufacturers decried the impact of bottlenecks that are stifling market access. They also decried unnecessary customs levies, insufficient government support, and rising energy costs incurred in production.
Seromume Ikogho, founder of Detail Africa Group, a fashion brand, says that while it is the dream of every manufacturer to upscale, market access to raw materials as well as transportation to consumers has been a huge challenge in achieving the Go Local dream.
“Logistics is a very big issue still,” he started. “Both from the supply and purchase side. It is very interesting that logistics within Africa are more expensive than outside the continent. I find that very surprising.”
According to him, upscaling and preserving Nigeria’s indigenous heritage do not go hand in hand. “A manufacturer has to choose.”
For Ikogho, if Nigeria is to become a global brand that can compete in international markets, bottlenecks around market access must be refined.
“Nigeria is not ready for ready-made brands because access to raw materials is challenging unless one is into backward integration,” he said.
For decades, market access has continued to hold manufacturers back from upscaling and moving beyond the small and medium scale business level.
Read also: Poor market access limits Nigerian SMEs to fraction of potential — Dawodu
Amit Bose, chief financial officer at Valency Agro Nigeria Limited, an agribusiness company, noted that several manufacturers expend huge costs on energy owing to the country’s epileptic power supply.
This is preventing manufacturers from upscaling and is driving additional cost on finished goods, he says.
“Some of the local challenges that you see in Nigeria are high energy costs and inconsistent power supply. According to reports, Nigeria has one of the highest energy costs,” he said.
Adding that, “Power supply from the grid is not consistent. Many manufacturers either operate on diesel or gas generators.”
Data shows that manufacturers’ total expenditure on alternative energy sources surged by 42.3 percent to N1.11 trillion in 2024 from N781.68 billion in 2023, painting a clearer picture of how energy costs are stalling expansion in the industry.
Uche Nnaji, founder and creative director of OUCH Lifestyle Brand, a clothing fashion brand, called for private-public partnerships in ensuring that the Go Local dream is achieved, noting that it is not a job for a particular sector.
Nnaji said there are two kinds of nations — Jacob and Esau, two biblical characters. And according to him, Nigeria belongs to the Esau group, which always waits for others to produce and then imports.
“As we preach ‘go local’, we must be willing to go beyond being an Esau nation that waits for its borders to be open to import everything,” he said.
He further pushed for a professional culture if Nigerian-made brands are to have a seat on the global stage. “The culture of ‘anyhowness’ must be stopped from conversations like this. The Nigerianess in Nigeria is not the standard if we want our products to compete in the global market.”
Stressing authenticity as a key foundation in upholding the ‘go local’ dream, Flora Mbeledeogu, founder of Made in Africa Brand Ambassador (MABA), a fashion brand that produces bags and shoes, shared how at the beginning of her business, she was advised to add a “made in Italy” signage to her brand for them to be preferred in markets.
Her refusal to do that has come with more gains than regrets.
“The musicians who have remained authentic with the Nigerian brand have shown longevity in business compared to those who did not.”
Ayoola Oduntan, GMD Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited, reiterated the essence of authenticity. “The reason why our products have gone global is because we did not try to be something else.”
According to him, Nigeria has become a brand owing to the dynamic resilience of the Nigerian people.
“The power and our wealth come from empowering farmers. Nigeria must go local. This is the source of our wealth,” said Oduntan.
