The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has announced a strategic partnership with the Federal Government and various stakeholders to rejuvenate the country’s manufacturing sector.

This collaboration was revealed by MAN’s Director General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, during the opening of the Nigeria Manufacturers Summit in Abuja on Tuesday.

With the summit theme “Rethinking Manufacturing,” Ajayi-Kadir stressed the necessity for innovative approaches to improve the efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability of Nigeria’s manufacturing industry.

“The Summit will delve into critical discussions on overcoming the binding constraints that limit the performance of the manufacturing sector, enhancing supply chain resilience, leveraging technology, and generally fostering a conducive business environment to drive the growth of the sector,” Ajayi-Kadir stated in a MAN release.

Ajayi-Kadir also announced that President Bola Tinubu would attend the summit as the Special Guest of Honour.

The summit brought together a diverse group of participants, including government ministries, departments, agencies, multilateral and development partners, regional institutions, corporate entities, subject matter experts, and manufacturers from various sectors.

The discussions focused on five key areas: promoting growth, upscaling productivity, and improving competitiveness; enhancing energy security and infrastructure development; improving the macroeconomic environment and ease of doing business; enhancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices; and improving patronage of Made in Nigeria products and local content development. Additionally, the summit explored leveraging regional and continental trade for export development.

Ajayi-Kadir highlighted the importance of this discourse and noted that MAN, a leading business membership and advocacy body, is collaborating with the Presidency, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), and Ernst and Young (EY) to host the summit.