Nigeria is positioning industrialisation as the backbone of its next phase of economic growth, with the Federal Government pledging to channel up to five per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product annually into industrial development financing.
The commitment forms the financial anchor of the newly unveiled Nigeria Industrial Plan, introduced in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. The policy signals a strategic pivot from consumption-driven growth to large-scale domestic production, export expansion, and job-intensive manufacturing.
Under the plan, manufacturing is projected to raise its contribution to GDP to 15 per cent by 2030 and 25 per cent by 2035. The mining sector is also expected to expand significantly, targeting eight per cent of GDP by 2030 and 10 per cent by 2035. Officials say these targets are designed to rebalance the economy away from heavy oil dependence and strengthen industrial competitiveness.
A central financing pillar of the framework includes recapitalising the Bank of Industry to ₦3 trillion by 2026, alongside expanding sector-specific intervention funds, many of which are domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria. While the scale of funding is ambitious, the plan leaves questions about long-term funding sources and fiscal sustainability.
The government has identified metals and solid minerals, oil and gas, construction, and manufacturing as immediate priority sectors. According to the Minister of State for Industry, John Enoh, the initiative represents a deliberate shift in national economic priorities toward structured industrial expansion.
In a move aimed at tightening accountability, the plan introduces an Economic Development Incentive to replace the Pioneer Status Incentive. The new framework aligns tax relief with measurable outcomes such as investment volume, employment generation, and production capacity in targeted sectors, under the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025.
For Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the policy introduces an Interest Drawback Scheme. Rather than offering subsidised credit upfront, businesses will access loans at commercial rates and receive partial refunds after achieving predefined milestones, including job creation and export performance. The approach seeks to reward measurable impact rather than speculative borrowing.
Vice President Kashim Shettima emphasised that inter-agency coordination and private-sector collaboration would be decisive in determining the policy’s success. He noted that industrialisation demands coherence across energy supply, infrastructure, trade facilitation, financing structures, and workforce development.
Technology and sustainability also feature prominently in the framework. The plan highlights automation, robotics, and digital manufacturing as critical to long-term competitiveness, while setting a target for 25 per cent renewable energy usage within the industrial sector by 2030. Industrial expansion is aligned with Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and the country’s net-zero ambition by 2060.
On workforce development, the strategy proposes reforms to Technical and Vocational Education and Training programmes, alongside stronger collaboration between academia, industry, and government institutions to deepen research and innovation capacity.
The broader objective is to position Nigeria as a regional manufacturing hub under the African Continental Free Trade Area, leveraging local production of strategic inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients to reduce import dependency and ease foreign exchange pressure.
With a five-year implementation roadmap running from 2025 to 2030, the Nigeria Industrial Plan sets measurable targets and assigns responsibilities across institutions. In the near term, officials expect expanded financing and clearer incentives to unlock stalled investments. Over the medium term, the government anticipates stronger agro-processing, pharmaceutical production, downstream petrochemicals, expanded exports, and job creation.
As global supply chains continue to shift and regional trade deepens, Nigeria’s industrial gamble could redefine the structure of Africa’s largest economy: provided financing, policy coordination, and execution remain consistent with the plan’s ambitious targets.
By Juliet Ezeh, Abuja
