As inflation continues to put immense pressure on Nigerian families, the search for affordable everyday goods has become a critical daily struggle. The high cost of imported products, priced in dollars and subject to global supply chain disruptions, has left consumers vulnerable to economic forces beyond their control.
A New Model Built on Local Production and Regional Chains
In response to this challenge, Africa Trade & Enterprise (ATE) is championing a transformative economic model. The company's strategy focuses on local production, regional sourcing, and building shorter, more resilient supply chains. In an exclusive interview, ATE's Chief Executive, Onyekachi Izukanne, detailed how this approach aims to shield Nigerian households from external economic shocks.
"Localised production is about reducing the exposure of Nigerian households to external shocks," Izukanne stated. "When more of the value chain is in naira, not dollars, prices are driven more by local productivity and competition and less by the global shipping or FX cycle."
He explained that this involves a fundamental shift from importing finished goods to producing and packaging them closer to the consumer, utilizing more regional inputs, and drastically cutting the distance products travel to shop shelves.
Creating Skilled Career Paths for Nigerian Youth
Beyond price stability, ATE's model is designed to tackle Nigeria's severe youth unemployment crisis. Izukanne emphasized that the company is creating formal, skilled technical jobs with clear career progression.
"A 25-year-old can start on a production line, earn certifications on specific machines, move into maintenance, and later into shift or plant supervision," he illustrated. This focus aims to build a domestic pool of industrial talent, which is essential for any nation seeking greater control over its production base.
The scale of this impact is significant. Izukanne provided a concrete example: a medium-sized beverage or food facility with 120 direct employees can, using conservative multipliers, sustain between 250 to 350 total jobs in the surrounding ecosystem. A network of such facilities across Nigeria and neighbouring markets could support several thousand livelihoods, primarily for young people.
Managing Currency Risk and Empowering SMEs
Operating across volatile markets like Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya requires sophisticated risk management. ATE employs a three-pronged strategy: reducing dollar exposure by sourcing inputs within Africa and paying in local currencies, matching costs and revenues in the same currency, and leveraging regional financial infrastructure like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
Crucially, Izukanne stressed that ATE's platform is not exclusive to large multinationals. Recognizing that SMEs contribute around 48% of Nigeria's GDP and 84% of employment, ATE is built to serve them. Through partnerships with entities like TRT Manufacturing, SMEs can access contract manufacturing capacity that meets regional safety standards. Furthermore, they can plug into TradeDepot's extensive distribution network to reach tens of thousands of retailers across multiple countries without massive upfront investment.
Avoiding Common Export Pitfalls and the Localisation Index
Izukanne identified the biggest mistake local brands make when exporting within ECOWAS: treating it as "a truck and a dream." He highlighted three recurring problems: lack of regulatory readiness for destination markets, unreliable supply volumes, and mispricing that fails to account for all cross-border costs.
To incentivize and measure genuine localisation, ATE is developing the Localisation Africa Index. This scorecard will evaluate how African a product's value chain truly is, based on the share of continental production, regional sourcing, quality of jobs supported, and export reach. Brands committed to localisation will gain greater access to ATE's support platform.
Looking ahead, Izukanne called for specific policy action from the Nigerian government. He advocated for a strategic import regime that makes it cheaper and easier to import inputs for local production than to import finished goods. This, aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), would help transition Nigeria from a buyer of foreign industrial capacity to a builder of its own, ultimately giving consumers a fighting chance against global inflation.
