The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) is working towards raising the contribution of the sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 20 percent by 2030, representing a giant leap from its current average contribution of about 9 percent.
President of MAN, Otunba Francis Meshioye, who disclosed this at a media luncheon, said this is one of the targets of the association during his tenure as the president.
He said that MAN will reinvigorate its advocacy focus on the following mandates: “Improve evidence-based advocacy through proactive engagement with legislators, policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders; Increase the output of the manufacturing sector and its contribution to GDP to 20% by 2030; Increase export of Nigerian manufactured products to other African Countries and beyond; Promote manufacturing sector employment through capacity building, new technologies, and professional advisory services; and Promote inclusive inter-industry linkage between SMIs and large corporations by encouraging the development of industry value chains, industrial parks, and collaboration with academia.”
Over the years, the manufacturing contribution to GDP has been hovering around the 9% mark, below the double-digit benchmark for attaining the developed industrialisation status.
Meshioye said MAN has continued to be strategic in its engagement during this electioneering year to place its issues on the front burner.
“We have engaged the Presidential aspirants on the importance of having a virile and competitive manufacturing sector. We have equally pushed at different fora with major political contenders to incorporate the need to accelerate the growth and development of the manufacturing sector in their economic agenda.
“In this regard, we have availed all the political parties with our Blueprint for the Accelerated Development of Manufacturing in Nigeria as well as the agenda for manufacturing in Nigeria for the next 10 years” he added.