By Merit Ibe
President of Apparels and Accessories Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (AAMAN), Mrs Folashade Oyemade, has called on the Federal Government to create enabling environment for apparel manufacturers in Nigeria to compete favourably with foreign competitors.
Oyemade made the call at the seventh edition of the Source Textile and Apparel Trade Summit 2022.
The event which was held in Lagos,”Themed Empowering Change;West Africa the Next Frontier for Apparel Sourcing and Investments”, emphasised the need for government to review policies, on importation,as exporting our local apparel would boost GDP and increase the value of our naira,if government addresses the challenges in the industry.
“The industry would not only add boost Nigeria’s GDP, but it would push up the value of the Naira and improve the living standard of Nigerians.The industry is highly under-tapped and still struggling considering the challenges of infrastructures, power, funding that has discouraged investment. Oyemade boasted about the capability of the sector to salvage the economy given its huge prospect, but lamented lack of investment and support for players in the industry.
She explained that as a result, manufacturers were producing at low quantity and below par, resulting in dwindling prospects.
“We can only talk about real manufacture and growth if we are constantly producing, but this is not the case because the environment is not enabling. China is where it is today because it is constantly producing. It started by constantly producing for its population before it started to experience exponential growth, we need to emulate Asian continent to grow our economy.
The Leonth Event Organiser and Show Director, Bunmi Aliyu said the platform is the biggest to source for apparels, fabrics,prints, machineries, clothing accessories,footwear and much with over 100 exhibitors showcasing pre-collections of 2022-2023. The fair aims to expand with each event becoming a major influence in West Africa ‘s apparel production. Aliyu said part of the challenges that is hindering the industry is power, if the government can solve the issue of Power and make funds available for our designers brands as well as easy access to market,this are some of the worries of entrepreneurs in the industry.
Although, she said that the Bank of industry is trying to tackle the area of funding and has recorded success stories,with the right partnership, Nigeria can become a leading global apparel brand in West Africa.