Nigeria leaves N40tn manufacturing opportunities untapped – Report

Nigeria possesses over N40tn in untapped manufacturing opportunities, as reported in the Nigerian Manufacturing Opportunity Report 2026. Despite this potential, imports have been meeting 64% of local demand for manufactured goods in 2025, indicating a $29.4bn market that domestic industry has not yet served. The report, launched by SEID, examines manufacturing opportunities across Nigeria's subsectors, states, value chains, and industrial clusters.

The report highlights that Nigeria's manufacturing landscape is characterized by distinct areas of industrial strength, with different states, regions, and value chains exhibiting varying levels of scale, specialization, and competitiveness. This presents an opportunity to build on existing capabilities instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to industrial development.

Manufacturing activity is spread across various states, with the South-West being the largest manufacturing zone, while other regions are developing strengths in sectors such as food and agro-processing, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cement, steel, and light manufacturing. The report identifies three of the five major manufacturing subsectors as accounting for about 71% of manufacturing output, emphasizing the importance of enhancing competitiveness and development in these areas.