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Nigeria unveils plans to revive CTG industry
08 Jul '16
3 min read
The Nigerian government has unveiled plans to create a production hub and offer tax incentives to revive the cotton, textile and garment (CTG) industry for sustainable economic development.
Nigeria's textiles industry is virtually tottering under the onslaught of cheap imports and smuggled clothing. Measures to stimulate growth in the industry include tax incentives, harmonised tax structure, infrastructural development and financing, as well as creation of a production hub for cotton industry and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector.
Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar, announced these plans recently at the Textile and Garment Manufacturing Conference organised by Africa Fashion Week Nigeria (AFWN) 2016 in Lagos.
She said that the government would continue to create an enabling environment to promote the ease of doing business and active participation of the private sector to boost production.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Bank of Industry (BoI) have been repositioned to implement National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) goals to boost SMEs' development in the country, the Minister said.
“Nurtured MSMEs can contribute to GDP, job creation and wealth for the citizens. We urge all stakeholders to contribute to economic growth by giving their best so that we can have a Nigeria that we can all be proud of,” Abubakar said.
Joseph Babatunde, Head, Large Enterprises, Bank of Industry, said that the bank believes in the potential of the African textile industry, which is why it floated the one billion naira ($35.46 lakh dollars) fashion industry fund.
He urged fashion entrepreneurs to exploit the opportunity of the financial assistance to promote the growth of the industry.
Nigeria's textiles industry is virtually tottering under the onslaught of cheap imports and smuggled clothing. Measures to stimulate growth in the industry include tax incentives, harmonised tax structure, infrastructural development and financing, as well as creation of a production hub for cotton industry and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector.
Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar, announced these plans recently at the Textile and Garment Manufacturing Conference organised by Africa Fashion Week Nigeria (AFWN) 2016 in Lagos.
She said that the government would continue to create an enabling environment to promote the ease of doing business and active participation of the private sector to boost production.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Bank of Industry (BoI) have been repositioned to implement National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) goals to boost SMEs' development in the country, the Minister said.
“Nurtured MSMEs can contribute to GDP, job creation and wealth for the citizens. We urge all stakeholders to contribute to economic growth by giving their best so that we can have a Nigeria that we can all be proud of,” Abubakar said.
Joseph Babatunde, Head, Large Enterprises, Bank of Industry, said that the bank believes in the potential of the African textile industry, which is why it floated the one billion naira ($35.46 lakh dollars) fashion industry fund.
He urged fashion entrepreneurs to exploit the opportunity of the financial assistance to promote the growth of the industry.
“We need effective utilisation of the fund so that we can make the industry better. Sam and Sara, United Textile Ltd. (UNTL) are some of the projects that the bank has supported and they are performing well in the industry,” Babatunde said.
He urged the government to evolve more strategies that would expand and promote the textile industry.
Commissioner for Finance, Lagos State, Abiodun Akinkunmi, said that textile and garment industry has a strategic role to play in economic development.
He urged local manufacturers to improve the standards and quality of their products in order to discourage the dumping of foreign textiles and garments in the country.
Akinkunmi also urged manufacturers to encourage the use of local materials like adire, aso oke, animal skin, ankara as major designs that must not go into extinct in order to boost the country's GDP. (SH)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India
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