Economic Reforms Key to 2025 Growth- MAN

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has stated that the 2025 outlook for the manufacturing sector will largely depend on the success of ongoing economic reforms in the country.

MAN President, Otunba Francis Meshioye, made this assertion during the ninth edition of the MAN Media Personality of the Year Award and the 2025 Presidential Media Luncheon.

Meshioye listed the ongoing reforms to include the implementation of the proposed tax reforms, stabilisation of critical macroeconomic indicators, and targeted investments in infrastructure and technology.

He highlighted that despite facing various macroeconomic and infrastructural challenges in 2024, Nigeria’s manufacturing sector remained resilient. These factors, Meshioye explained, presented opportunities for growth and innovation, encouraging stakeholders to find ways to enhance profitability and boost the sector’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Meshioye, however, noted that the country’s projected economic growth in 2025 pegged at around four per cent was a modest recovery compared to previous years.

He projected that in the year, the interest rate would begin to ease, as its continued hike by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had failed to curb inflation, but had stifled investment and business expansion.

According to him, only a favourable interest rate environment will help manufacturers access the necessary financing to reinvest in their operations and drive productivity.

He also projected that the naira would hover between N1,500 and N1,650 per dollar in the first quarter of 2025 following the effective management of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System.

“Given the ongoing fiscal and monetary reforms of the present administration, the contraction of the economy is expected to ease and experience some growth this year with stability in the exchange rate regime in 2025.

“Similarly, the efficient adoption of artificial intelligence will be a game changer for the manufacturing sector in 2025 and the near future.

“This is expected to help in engendering enhanced production and productivity, improved capacity utilisation, innovative product development, improved inventory system, efficient logistics operations and others,” he said.

He said for the sector to regain momentum, efforts to improve productivity and enhance competitiveness must be sustained.

Meshioye called for the government’s alignment with the association’s conviction that a win for the manufacturing sector was a win for the economy and by extension, a better life for the citizenry.

He urged the government to timely pass the four tax bills before the National Assembly, implement the made-in-Nigeria products patronage policy, tame inflation and upgrade infrastructure.

“It is also important that the government ensure food security and promote local sourcing of raw materials, address policy inconsistency and promote energy security.

“We also call for prompt clearance of backlog of foreign exchange foreword by the CBN and lastly ensure affordable lending rate and increased access to credit,” he said.

Meshioye also lauded the media for their good work in urging the government to implement the right policies that were favourable to the survival of the real sector of the economy.

He noted that the Nigerian media had played a critical role in magnifying MAN’s research-based advocacy and supported the association to success over the years.

NAN