Manufacturers have identified poor standardisation, weak logistics architecture and policy imbalances as major obstacles to the growth of intra-African trade.
Speaking at the ongoing West Africa Industrialisation, Manufacturing and Trade Summit and Exhibition, the Managing Director of Coleman Technical Industries Limited, George Onafowokan, urged governments across the continent to prioritise value addition and ensure the seamless movement of goods across borders.
Onafowokan noted that although progress has been made in standardisation, the lack of harmonised standards across African countries remains a critical barrier to regional trade expansion.
“We have made progress in standardisation, but whatever standard is adopted should be acceptable across countries. If a product is approved in Nigeria, it should be acceptable in Ghana or Cameroon,” he said.
According to him, certification is not the most difficult hurdle. Rather, the physical movement of goods and people across borders poses the greater challenge.
He pointed to multiple border charges, poor road infrastructure, and inconsistent policies as persistent factors that are frustrating trade flows within West Africa and across the continent.
“Each country sees border crossings as revenue sources, which ultimately frustrates trade. If I produce in Nigeria and want to move goods across West Africa, it should be seamless,” he stressed, calling for improved container transport systems and simplified cross-border logistics.
Onafowokan also emphasised the need for African economies to shift from exporting raw materials to building competitive regional supply chains anchored on value addition.
Drawing a comparison with China, he observed that although the Asian country imports about 40 per cent of the world’s copper, it processes the raw material into finished goods and exports them at a significantly higher value.
“They buy raw materials, process them into finished products and export them at multiple times the original value. That is how you build a strong trade balance,” he explained, lamenting that Africa continues to export crude oil, cocoa and other primary commodities while importing refined petroleum products and finished chocolate at higher prices.
“It does not make sense that we see ourselves as the world’s raw material source and the biggest consumers of finished products made from those same materials,” he said. “Until we prioritise value addition, our non-oil exports will never surpass oil exports.”
The Coleman boss further advocated deliberate and balanced trade policies that encourage domestic manufacturing while reducing excessive dependence on imports.
“We should encourage the importation of raw materials duty-free if they will be processed locally, but discourage the export of unprocessed materials,” he suggested.
He stressed that government policies must align with the broader objective of industrialisation, especially given Nigeria’s youthful demographic profile. With over 70 per cent of the population under 25, he said the country must adopt policies that drive job creation through manufacturing expansion.
“Government should be the enabler, not the driver of business. The private sector drives business, while government creates the enabling environment,” he added.
Commenting on the significance of the summit, Onafowokan described it as the first truly business-to-business-focused industrial gathering in West Africa.
“This is different from the usual business-to-consumer exhibitions. It creates opportunities for inter-business collaboration and provides a forum where government and private sector players can engage directly on improving the ease of doing business,” he noted.
He added that such platforms are critical to strengthening integration within the West African business ecosystem and accelerating cross-border industrial partnerships.
On developments in the global economy, he warned that geopolitical tensions affecting oil markets could negatively impact manufacturing by raising energy and logistics costs.
“In any conflict scenario, crude oil prices rise, and that affects energy, transportation and production costs across industries. We hope it remains temporary,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh, commended Coleman Technical Industries for its reputation and quality output, noting that Nigerian manufacturers must leverage excellence to expand within and beyond the country.
