Speech by the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, CFA, at the second edition of the Ministerial Press Briefing being organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, on February 16, 2024
Protocols.
1. It is with great pleasure and honour that I stand before you today as the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, to highlight the strides taken under my Ministry to foster economic growth and prosperity to Nigerians, in line with the laudable 8-Point agenda of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu towards the achievement of the following: food security; ending poverty; economic growth and job creation; access to capital; improving security; improving the playing field on which people and particularly companies operate; rule of law; and fighting corruption.
2. The Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment will play a key role in the delivery of Mr President’s 8-Point agenda as four (economic growth and job creation, access to capital, improving the playing field on which people and particularly companies operate, and ending poverty) out of the 8-point agenda are directly linked to the ministry.
3. Indeed, the Ministry’s mandate is focused around 6 pillars of growth, which are; support and facilitation to improve ease of doing business, development of policies and reforms, increased access to Financing, increased access to Global markets, Driving Investments, and Job Creation which all play a significant role in the delivery of Mr President’s 8-Point Agenda.
4. Towards the delivery of Mr President’s 8-Point Agenda a Presidential Council on Industrial Revitalization was launched, wherein the Ministry has been key in driving initiatives geared towards accelerating economic growth, job creation and access to capital.
5. As Vice-chair under this council, my Ministry is coordinating the drive to deliver a robust consumer credit system for Nigeria. Our goal is 3-fold, (i) to increase consumer credit uptake in Nigeria, (ii) to enable a sustainable credit system for the country in line with global best practices, and (iii) to enhance the supporting infrastructure (technology, data, financial institutions, global partners) to boost credit operations and equip players in the industry.
6. Towards this end, an Inter-Ministerial Workgroup comprising of 6 sub-groups is intensely working on the development of an efficient consumer credit system which has proven to be a highly essential component for overall economic growth and development, as it functions to improve market efficiencies and fill in gaps in consumption and productivity.
7. With respect to Trade as a tool to stimulate economic growth, the FMITI is set to launch the National Trade Intelligence Unit in collaboration with other MDAs such as the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, the Nigerian Customs Services, Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
8. The Trade Intelligence Unit will be the National Coordinator and focal point for all trade related data and information in Nigeria. This office is set to leverage world class technology such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Big-Data to provide Nigeria with the ability to predict global market trends that will enhance our local and global trading capacities thereby significantly enhancing trade and the ease of doing business in Nigeria, in line with Mr President’s 8 Point Agenda.
9. By harnessing the power of big data and artificial intelligence, the Centre will use accumulated information to predict local and global economic trends. This will equip Nigerian traders with invaluable insights to navigate potential global economic shocks and provide strategic guidance to enhance our economic growth, as envisioned under Mr. President’s 8-Point Agenda. For Example this will enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses within the global trading scheme. By identifying emerging market trends and opportunities, and analyzing trade flows, we can pinpoint sectors and products with high demand in global markets. This will enable Nigerian traders to concentrate on those areas where Nigeria has a comparative advantage, leading to the rapid economic growth that Nigeria is destined to achieve under the leadership of Mr. President, H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
10. Our aspiration for the Trade Intelligence Unit is to create a fully automated Centre of Excellence. This centre will employ top-tier talent and collaborate with world-class institutions for the purpose of gathering and analyzing trade intelligence. By deploying cutting-edge algorithms and tracking technology, it will monitor cargoes, containers, and vehicles swiftly, without disrupting the flow of legitimate trade. This will provide Nigeria with unparalleled, reliable import and export information and data, essential for effective planning and ease of doing business.
11. The Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment under my stewardship has also Re-launched the Nigerian Trade Policy 2023-2027, which is geared at stimulating the domestic economy by connecting Nigerian SME’s to the global value chain thereby ensuring that Nigerian businesses have the capacity to be globally competitive.
12. In furtherance of ensuring this global competitiveness, we are currently negotiating our accession into the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) Agreement – which is posited to be the largest free trade area in the world, with a combined GDP of $3.4 Trillion and access to a market of over 1.3 Billion people spread across 54 member states of the African Union. Recently, I was at the 13th AFCFTA Trade Minister’s meeting where we are actively negotiating Nigeria’s unique position on several crucial matters bordering on digital trade, safeguarding against illegal transshipment under the AFCFTA and tariff lines in specific sectors of the Nigerian economy.
13. The successful implementation of the AFCFTA is expected to lead to diversification of exports, improved market access, enhanced trade opportunities and increased foreign direct investment.
14. Furthermore, under the Presidential Council, we are implementing several initiatives to reform the commodity trading landscape and also NCX’s operations and performance.
15. These reforms will create a future where the hard work of farmers and miners translates into equitable opportunities in national and international markets, contribute to minimizing food inflation, enhance solid mineral and agricultural production and exports, boost private sector investment in the agricultural value chain, and foster economic empowerment among small hold farmers and miners. These initiatives are as follows:
- – Upgrading and revitalizing the its operations, facilities, and critical infrastructure, such as silos storage system, testing, and grading facilities, establishing a cutting-edge trading platform and warehouse management system and undertaking extensive and robust outreach program, to onboard and continuously engage farmers and miners.
- – We are creating a National job centre to match available vacancies in industries and businesses with available talent pool. The job centre will also train and equip people to be job-ready. One such initiative is the Skill-UP Artisans program (SUPA) led by our parastatal the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). The program will empower artisans with tech-enabled skills training, licensing, access to essential toolkits, and promoting industry-standard excellence. SUPA addresses the skills deficiency among artisans and standardizes artisanal practice, the program ensures the availability of a skilled workforce for domestic industries, thereby reducing labour import dependency. Over a two-year period, the program aims to empower 10 million hard-working Nigerians, and reflects the government’s commitment to promoting economic development and improving citizens’ standard of living, and job creation.
16. Still in furtherance of job-creation, skills development and talent exports we launched the NATEP – to create 1m jobs including talent exchange/export, business process outsourcing and job outsourcing. We are engaging and signing MOUs with world class organizations and governments on this.
17. Additionally, and in furtherance of the 8-point agenda of the President Tinubu-Led administration, the ministry is taking decisive steps to attract capital investments that will transform our homegrown enterprises into global players. We have just recently concluded a stakeholder engagement with our domestic private equity and asset management firms towards the launch of an Investment Mobilization Initiative aimed at increasing local and foreign investment as a catalyst for economic growth in Nigeria.
18. In cooperation with the Nigeria Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), we are set to revamp and relaunch the Diaspora investment initiative to attract diaspora funds into investment platforms and vehicles we have developed.
19. On our bilateral engagements have been fruitful and have led to significant investment announcements and partnership opportunities for Nigerian trade. A notable example is the G20 summit in India, where a $14bn worth of FDI inflow to Nigeria was announced and being actualized. Since then, we have seen the Confederation of Indian Industries visiting Nigeria to further explore identified investment opportunities. These engagements with India, Germany, Netherlands, UAE, South Africa, and others have opened up avenues for investment and the establishment of joint regulatory protocols.
20. Recently, we signed an MOU on Enhanced Trade in Partnership (ETIP) with the United Kingdom, where we have extensively discussed the issue of joint regulatory protocols. This has culminated in the signing of the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement. This agreement facilitates smoother trade processes, allowing Nigerian businesses to export more goods to the UK. It also provides capacity building and sensitization for Nigerian exporters on how to benefit from the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which enables Nigerian exporters to export up to 3000 different agricultural products to the UK with beneficial terms.
21. The partnership also encourages UK investors to explore Nigeria’s most promising sectors, working towards increasing reciprocal Foreign Direct Investment. This cooperation aims to spur economic growth through investments in infrastructure, technology, and manufacturing. Furthermore, the Regulatory Cooperation on Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT) makes it easier for Nigeria to trade goods with the UK by preventing, identifying, and eliminating unnecessary technical barriers. This cooperation promotes good regulatory practices and identifies trade facilitation initiatives leading to the convergence of technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures with relevant international standards.
22. These engagements and agreements are a testament to our commitment to fostering international relations that benefit Nigerian trade and investment. They represent a significant step towards our goal of economic diversification and sustainable growth.
23. However, we must acknowledge some of the prevailing challenges. Infrastructure deficits, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and regulatory complexities remain hurdles to overcome. Additionally, external factors such as fluctuating commodity prices and global economic uncertainties pose risks to our economic stability. Yet, we are undeterred in our resolve to address these challenges head-on, seeking innovative solutions and fostering collaboration across sectors.
24. We will also be engaging more with the private sector to get closer to the business community and resolve their challenges. We will do this by having more sectoral stakeholder engagements. It is through this collaboration that we can fully unlock the potential of our nation and create an environment where businesses thrive, innovate, and contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of our great nation.
25. Towards this end, I recently undertook a Factory tour in January 2024, to identify and seek to address these challenges facing our manufacturers in a bid to fostering a stronger manufacturing economy.
26. Following the successful factory tour , there is general optimism about the Nigerian Market: the manufacturers all forecast continued growth of their businesses and have made investment plans to support this growth. They believe that the demand in the Nigerian market presents strong growth potential for business, and Nigeria has the potential to become the production hub for West African Region. For example:
• Nigerian Bottling Company has invested $1.3bn over the last ten years and plans to invest another $1bn over the next five years.
• Unilever said, “We are Here for Good”. They are also launching new product categories this year.
• Seven Up Bottling Company plans to invest in logistics and recycling for their business.
• The Sugar Refineries (Dangote Sugar Refinery, BUA Foods and Golden Sugar Ltd) recommitted to the implementation of their Backward Integration Programs.
27. Towards development of Industrialization, we have issued import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) letters of recommendation to 20 manufacturers to boost expansion and production capacity. Additionally, we are implementing growth programs through the Backward Integration Program(BIP) for the following products – raw sugar, palm oil, automobile assembly, battery assembly, cassava starch & tomato concentrate and others.
Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to fruitful discussions.
MAY GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.