For a long time now, Nigerians have been dependent on imported goods and have neglected locally manufactured products. Local manufacturing companies have struggled to stay in business because of the lack of appetite for locally manufactured goods and Nigeria as a country has been saddled with a huge import bill in terms of balance of payment. The resultant effect of this addiction has been the creation of an import based economy with little foot prints in the local manufacturing sector.
While the oil boom lasted, the Nigerian economy could cope with the huge import bill and the resulting demand for the dollar. With the recent drop in the global price of crude oil and the worldwide effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has been struggling to cope with the demand for the dollar because Nigeria’s income stream which is based on proceeds generated from the sale of crude oil.
In other to reduce the demand for the dollar, the government has come up with strategies such the ban on importation of some goods and the exclusion of some other goods from the Central Bank’s foreign exchange purchase portal.
With the current ban in some imported goods, Nigerians have resorted to patronizing locally manufactured products. This in itself is good for local manufacturers and the Nigerian economy at large.
Prior to the restriction on the importation of foreign goods, various reasons such as quality and pricing had been adduced for the lack of appetite for locally manufactured goods.
Thus, there is an assumption that for locally manufactured goods to sit well with the Nigerian consumer, the goods should be affordable and be of good quality. However, after a careful investigation of goods made in Nigeria, it was observed that there are a lot of good quality locally manufactured products but Nigerians still prefer to patronise foreign products either because they doubt the quality of the product or they are unaware of the existence of affordable local substitutes. It is this gap that LMdb.ng intends to bridge.
LMdb.ng is a newly rebranded online shopping destination for all Nigerian made products. Their aim is to create an avenue where Nigerian manufacturers of genuine products can showcase their creativity to the world and also connect buyers to sellers.
Their mission is to “Promote Nigerian” by becoming the engine of commerce and trade for Nigerian products across the world. The reach of Nigerian products is about to broaden, and quality products from skilled shoemakers, tailors etc. can now be sold from the comfort of their workshop by taking advantage of the bespoke section in LMdb.ng. The online portal creates an avenue to shop for different categories of products ranging from fashion, home and office decoration, bespoke fashion and shoes, hair care products, baby products, cosmetics and many more.
They currently offer nationwide and international delivery (coming soon) with several convenient and secure payment options to choose from. They are constantly expanding their product variety to include more exciting categories.
