Commonwealth Facilitating Establishment of Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria, Fostering SMEs’ Growth 

Dike Onwuamaeze 

The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) has declared that it is using its network to facilitate the establishment of manufacturing firms and advancement of the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

This was disclosed in Lagos by the Chief Executive Officer of CWEIC, Ms. Samantha Cohen, during her visit to Nigeria.

Cohen said: “I think that manufacturing is the key to unlocking economic prosperity, and creating more manufacturing facilities on the continent as a whole, and in Nigeria, is really important because the cost of living for local people become so much more expensive when you have to manufacture offshore.

She added: “One of our Strategic Partners is called Russel Smith Group, they are pioneering additive manufacturing in Nigeria. They are also building one of the biggest factories in the world in additive manufacturing in Lagos.It is going to be transformative for Lagos.

“They are partnering with another company, an Australian tech company, which is a fantastic example of Commonwealth collaboration as well. We can say to them, this market is growing very quickly and there are manufacturing opportunities.”

She explained that the reason additive manufacturing can work so well in Nigeria is because the country has all the raw materials. 

Cohen said: “So this Russel Smith Group is manufacturing through 3D printing using powdered metal.You have all the raw materials here. You can create 3D parts for cars, for defense, for farming equipment, for mining equipment. And that is happening here in Lagos. And things that you can pilot in Lagos can then be duplicated and modeled in other parts of Nigeria and Africa.” She said that she was in Nigeria to promote trade and investment between Nigeria and other member state of the Commonwealth of Nations.