MAN advocates national policy on entrepreneurship

 The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has called for speedy formulation of a national policy on entrepreneurship to reposition the manufacturing sector and establish a culture of self-dependence.

The President, MAN, Dr. Frank Jacobs, made the call while delivering a lecture titled ‘Entrepreneurship, a catalyst for the growth of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria’ at the convocation ceremony of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State.

He said, “The formulation of a national policy on entrepreneurship should be fast-tracked as this is very important to the repositioning of the manufacturing sector as well as the establishment of a culture of self-dependence.”

Jacobs maintained that entrepreneurship was a catalyst for the growth of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria, adding that once the entrepreneurial spirit was developed, transformation into a particular line of business would not be too difficult, provided the right orientation, training, advice and support services were available.

He said, “Entrepreneurship could assist in curbing the over-dependent nature of the economy on imported raw materials, technology and even finished products. Nigeria’s chronic dependence on imports is a result of many decades of misdirected policies that swamped local industry and wiped out diverse avenues of employment and wealth creation.

“It is for this reason that MAN commends the present administration for adopting the resource-based industrialisation policy for the country. This will assist in reducing the country’s over-dependence on imported inputs for the manufacturing sector. “

He added, “MAN members have increasingly utilised higher percentage of local raw materials over the years. For instance, local sourcing increased from 48 per cent in 2013 to 52 per cent in 2015.