The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, has charged manufacturers to leverage emerging trends by embracing technological advancements and innovation to drive productivity.
Uzoka-Anite made the call at the opening ceremony of the 2023 edition of the annual Nigeria Manufacturing and Equipment (NME) Expo jointly organised by the Nigerian Raw Materials Exposition (NIRAM) of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) held in Lagos.
She urged Nigerian manufacturers to leverage emerging trends like Artificial Intelligence, automation, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance manufacturing processes, improve efficiency and drive productivity.
She also said: “the future of manufacturing also lies in harnessing the potential of renewable energy sources. As we transit to a greener economy, it is imperative that we promote the use of clean and sustainable energy in our manufacturing processes. This will not only help reduce our carbon footprint but also create new job and investment opportunities in the renewable energy sector.”
The Trade Minister restated the commitment of the ministry to extend to the implementation of policies and programmes that facilitate ease of doing business, improving access to finance for manufacturers and enhancing infrastructure and logistics to bolster the growth of the manufacturing sector.
The minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr. Uche Nnaji stated that industrialization is one of the indices of measuring the development of nations and the survival of manufacturing industries is dependent largely on the availability of raw materials.
Uche noted that, “as the country embarks on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), there is the need for consistent engagements amongst stakeholders in the raw materials and manufacturing value chain of the economy to avoid overbearing dumping of sub-standard raw materials and products on our shores from various sources across the world.”
The president, MAN, Otunba Francis Meshioye, stated that, “the vision of industrialised Nigeria would remain an illusion until we resolve the bidding constraints that affects ease of doing business in the country.”
He noted that the NIRAM Expo is aimed at creating a platform where stakeholders in the raw materials supply chain will come together to synergize, display and trade in available resources and raw materials with the users of these products.
“With this in mind, we intend to close the information gaps and encourage local sourcing of available raw materials by manufacturing industries which is in line with government backward integration programme,” he said.
