FMITI Targets Improved Productivity via Policy Implementation 

After years of policy research and design, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is set to make 2026 a year of improved economic productivity through focused policy implementation, writes Dike Onwuamaeze 

There is a major paradigm shift in the operations of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) in 2026. The shift is a transition from “policy design to policy delivery.”

The Minister of State, FMITI, Senator John Owan Enoh, said: “If 2025 focused on policy architecture, 2026 is positioned as the first full year of implementation. Performance will be measured by outcomes.

“Accordingly, the ministry’s industrial priorities are focused, sequenced, and execution driven. 2026 is the year Nigeria demonstrates credibly and consistently, that industrial policy delivers production, jobs, and competitiveness.”

According to the FMITI outlook for the year, “2026 is positioned as a year of consolidation and scale.” The objective is to create and maintain an enabling environment and good regulation for development and the expansion of industry, trade and investment to increase non-oil exports, boost trade revenue, mobilise foreign direct investments (FDIs) and foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) and generate more export led jobs.

It said: “The 2026 Outlook marks a deliberate shift: from policy design to policy delivery. If 2025 focused on policy architecture, 2026 is positioned as the first full year of implementation.

“Accordingly, the ministry’s industrial priorities are focused, sequenced, and execution-driven, anchored on building a credible evidence base, activating demand, and strengthening domestic productive capacity. Implementation will concentrate on productivity, scale, and execution across priority value chains. 

“Industrial cluster development will be piloted through shared infrastructure and services to unlock efficiency and competitiveness, complemented by dedicated long-term financing frameworks that expand patient capital for women-led businesses and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and integrate them into priority value chains.”

The FMITI’s 2026 Outlook said that the ministry would be focusing on sustaining reform momentum while tightening execution, with emphasis on disciplined implementation, sub-national delivery, and closer integration of trade, investment, and industrial policy to translate consolidation into sustained growth, exports, and jobs.

Therefore, the ministry’s priorities for the year are centred on four reinforcing pillars. These pillars are “unlocking global and regional demand through trade facilitation,” and “strengthening domestic supply of export ready goods and services.” Others are “mobilising investment through policy coherence and execution” and “leveraging data, digital infrastructure and strategic communications.”

The implementation of these four pillar are further broken into eight priority areas, which are national MSMEs’ census, the Made-in-Nigeria national campaign, industrial cluster development and women led-business long term finance. Others are value chain transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) digital industrial park, privatised industry performance review and holding of Industrial Revolution Working Group (IRWG) roundtables.

It said: “A core priority is the launch of a National MSME Census” that will replace “estimates with evidence and providing a reliable data backbone for industrial planning, targeted incentives, and measurable impact.

“To improve productivity and scale, industrial cluster development will be piloted through the Idu Industrial Park, providing shared infrastructure, processing, logistics, and quality support. The Cotton, Textile and Garment sector will serve as a flagship execution pilot, transitioning from fragmented interventions to a coordinated, demand-anchored value chain.”

The FMITI said that it would be, “Working with the Bureau of Public Enterprises, to review the performance of privatised enterprises. This priority area will see the structured evaluation of privatised industrial assets to assess performance against original privatisation objectives, including operational efficiency, investment commitments, job creation, and value-chain contribution.”

The ministry said that the roll-out of the Made-in-Nigeria national campaign will give practical expression to the federal government’s “Nigeria First” policy, mobilise market discipline, consumer confidence “and, therefore, national pride towards elevating local industry, stimulating domestic demand, and progressively reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imports through aligned procurement signals, standards enforcement, and consumer awareness.”

Furthermore, there will be dedicated financing frameworks for women-led industrial and MSME enterprises that will address access to patient capital while integrating these firms into priority value chains.

The ministry said it will strengthen service delivery by deploying artificial intelligence and digital systems to enhance data analytics, programme monitoring, regulatory coordination, and accountability.

The FMITI also committed itself to convening four additional IRWG Ministerial Roundtables in 2026. These engagements will provide focused, high-level platforms to resolve binding constraints that are militating the competitiveness of the country’s manufacturing sectors and businesses.

According to the 2026 outlook, the ministry would be deepening trade facilitation as a primary demand-side growth lever by activating new and existing bilateral and regional trade corridors. 

In furtherance of this objective, “Priority will be placed on strengthening trade flows with traditional partners such as the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, while expanding engagement with emerging markets in the Gulf, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia, including the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Japan. Full implementation of AfCFTA protocols will remain central to scaling intra-African trade.”

According to the the Minister of FMITI, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, the priority in 2026, “Is to connect global and regional demand with Nigeria’s supply capacity and the capital required to scale it. This includes strengthening industrial clusters and Special Economic Zones, deepening AfCFTA implementation, and aligning investment with priority sectors and value chains.

“We will   prioritise   converting   investment commitments into active projects, expanding export- ready production, and strengthening logistics and digital trade infrastructure to accelerate execution across priority value chains. This approach will translate opportunity into production into exports, and exports into jobs and prosperity.”

The FMITI stated in the outlook that the service sector would be advanced as the next frontier for GDP growth, with targeted efforts to facilitate Nigerian firms’ access to global services contracts in digital, professional, and creative sectors.

“Together, these measures are intended to stimulate external demand, expand market access, and create predictable pathways for Nigerian goods and services to secure buyers and contracts across regional and global markets,” it said.

Also in 2026, the ministry said it would advance industrial policy implementation through targeted value chains, industrial clusters, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and Digital Free Zones (DFZs), while aligning tariff policy, domestic demand, and production capacity to support scale and competitiveness.

It identified agro-processing, manufacturing, solid minerals, and labour-intensive industries such as cotton, textiles, and garments among its priorities.  

The ministry added that it will implement a structured programme of zonal and state-level engagements to assess export and investment readiness, anchor value chains locally, and strengthen state-level ownership of trade and industrial development. 

This, it stated, will be complemented by a Trade Facilitation Programme providing hands-on support on AfCFTA implementation, export documentation, standards compliance, and market access requirements.

FMITI added that it would also institutionalise investment facilitation and aftercare to reduce information asymmetries, lower transaction costs, and accelerate the movement of projects from interest to deployment. 

“This will be delivered through stronger coordination across trade, industrial, and investment policy, standardised processes for Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) that interface with investors and sector specific investment playbooks that clarify regulatory pathways, incentives, and project economics,” it said.

The FMITI stated that in 2026, public-private partnerships, development finance, and blended capital will be used to anchor priority projects with domestic investors, crowding in foreign capital to scale industrial assets, processing hubs, logistics infrastructure, and value-addition platforms.

It stated, “The delivery of these projections across all pillars would be underpinned by stronger data systems, digital infrastructure, and coordination mechanisms. In 2026, the ministry will expand digital trade and investment platforms, deploy analytics to improve monitoring and regulatory coordination, and scale electronic warehouse receipt systems to support structured trade and access to finance. National MSME, industrial, and trade datasets will be strengthened to improve planning, transparency, and accountability.”  

The Permanent Secretary of FMITI, Ambassador Nura Abba Rimi, said that in 2026, “we will continue to strengthen execution across the ministry’s core responsibilities.

“Our focus will be on further strengthening Nigeria’s industrial base and value-chain development, improving export facilitation, sustaining improvements to the investment environment, and reinforcing the ICT and operational systems that underpin effective service delivery.

“By maintaining this operational focus, we will ensure that the Ministry remains responsive, coordinated, and well-positioned to support Nigeria’s industrial growth, trade expansion, and broader economic objectives.”