Experts:Local Brands Competing in Global Value Chain Will Boost Nigeria’s GDP Growth

Oluchi Chibuzor 

Economic experts have tied the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to the active participation of indigenous brands in global value chains, emphasising the need for local businesses to look beyond national borders.

This, for them, is because global businesses are coalescing into big brands, to improve the GDP of countries where they are headquartered.

Speaking at the 10th FATE Business Outlook and Annual General Meeting in Lagos, A Professor of Economics at the Lagos Business School, Bongo Adi pointed to global examples like China and South Korea, where a few dominant companies drive substantial national GDP.

According to him, “The South Korean GDP, if you break down the companies that contribute to it, they may not be more than 10. To grow your GDP, your GDP also has to be driven by the amount of products or services that you contribute to these global value chains that dominate global production. 

“Now, Chinese output alone is more than $11.4 trillion. The combined output of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, India, put together is less than what the Chinese are producing and shipping to the rest of the world. So that means that you’ve got some companies in some countries that dominate the global value chain. So for a country to be competitive and be in a position to grow its output, to grow its industrial base, there is no way they can escape not participating in the global value chain.”

However, the President, FATE Alumni Executive Committee, Oluwatoyin Bakare, said opportunities abound outward for most entrepreneurs in the country.

She reiterated the need for Nigerians entrepreneurs to remain resilient while improving on their products’ quality.

“And one thing I tell people is that as long as you keep on doing what you are doing excellently well, your business will continue to thrive. Continue good quality and remain innovative and when we remain innovative and creative, our businesses will be sustainable. Opportunities abound across borders; the opportunities of how we can play big in the global value chain and how we can all come into collaboration and partnerships,” she said.

Adi noted that Nigeria as a big economy has enormous human resources, adding that entrepreneurs should begin to look outward.

According to him, “So there are huge opportunities for Nigerian businesses across Africa. But they need to go out there and then they need to change their orientation because we seem to be kind of locked in Nigeria. So we should also be poised to dominate Africa with our services and products. But then it requires our entrepreneurs to be outwardly oriented, not just being trapped within the local system.”