The richest man in Nigeria is a manufacturer

Posted by Felix Okoli on Monday March 11, 2013 at 14:11:58:

Manufacturing is not something a lot of Nigerians are into due to the stress it involves but it does pay in the long run and you can succeed at it even if it is just one product you can produce and offer to the market.

People like Dangote have been in the business of producing cement and this has helped make him a success story in Nigeria. Today, he is not just the richest man in Nigeria but currently the richest man in Africa.

Some people may say that its probably because of his relationship with politicians that made him richer but the bottom-line is that he already had something to offer, a useful product.

What does Aliko Dangote do to make him Africa's richest man? Well, he is a manufacturer whose business involves the production and packaging of cement which is useful for the construction industry.

He is one of the good examples that shows that manufacturing does pay in Nigeria despite the odds. If you could produce anything that the market needs, rather than import it, people would be willing to buy it from you at a reasonable price. There are other many examples of manufacturers in Nigeria producing a lot of products like tomato sauce, fruit juice, noodles, bottles water, biscuit, detergents, machine parts and others.

As at the first time he entered Forbes list, Dangote was estimated to be worth a little over $2bn but as at 2010, his fortune has only multiplied and Forbes currently updates his value to about $16bn. This makes him the richest pure black man in the world as at 2013.

There are lot of products that can be manufactured in Nigeria but an investor would have to focus on products that don't have too much competitive prices in the market. There is always a Nigerian advantage in producing items locally and one just needs to find one that suits his business well.

One of the factors competing against local manufacturing is the issue of importation. Most imported products tend to come at a discounted price to Nigeria than the cost of producing it locally. One would have to decide on whether to compete against those imports or avoid manufacturing such products altogether.

There are certain products that also have an import prohibition on them and it's wise to understand govt laws in order to take advantage of it. Most locally produced products do well when the market has not been flooded with related imported products.

Another factor manufacturers face in Nigeria is the issue of inefficient power supply. Many manufactures have to invest in alternative sources of energy such as generators and solar energy. Generators are fuel consuming and some companies would have to use it on a 24 hr basis just to remain profitable.

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Re: The richest man in Nigeria is a manufacturer Reply by bola john on Tuesday July 23, 2013 at 20:31:51:

beside the above listed item what is the average capital one need to have to manufacture something and example of things to do




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