Why technology is key to addressing manufacturing challenges in Nigeria – Marilyn Rapu

The Director-General of the Nigerian German Chamber of Commerce (NGCC), Marilyn Rapu, has said that manufacturers in Nigeria will need to embrace the latest technology to address some of the challenges facing the sector in Nigeria.

Rapu stated this in a chat with Nairametrics at the sideline of a meeting with Nigerian manufacturers and representatives of German tech companies in Lagos. According to her, while the manufacturers in the country have survived over the years amid infrastructure challenges, technology will enable them to really over some of the challenges and enable them to scale.

She said this is why the Chamber is working to connect Nigerian manufacturers to production technology companies in Germany through the EMO 2023 Technology show in Hannover. She added that the show would give Nigerian companies the opportunity to meet the tech manufacturers directly and acquire the technology solutions that best address their challenges.

Technology aids efficiency

Corroborating Rapu, the Chief Financial Officer at NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Aderemi Saka, said rather than looking at the current challenges, Nigerian manufacturers should start looking at technologies that can help them overcome them.

“Technology plays a pivotal role, and exponential role in ensuring that we can produce our products effectively and efficiently through emerging technologies such as automation, robotics, artificial intelligence or AI, or machine learning. All these technologies have huge potential for boosting manufacturing and they will pave the way for the future of manufacturing in Nigeria. I see a lot of manufacturing companies utilizing technology to overcome a lot of the manufacturing challenges that we have in Nigeria,” she said.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association, Dr. Wilfried Schafer, a number of the latest technologies such as predictive maintenance reduces downtime for manufacturers and boosts their productivity.

“Today, when setting up production technologies we also have to take into account the developments and changes in our society and around production because they make business more complex and more volatile. And therefore, the producers of production technology equipment have to find new solutions, which are more efficient and sustainable, and support new business models. So, all these needs are taken into account before we come up with solutions,” he said.

The Nigeria German Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit membership organization made up of German and Nigerian-owned business enterprises. The NGCC plays a crucial role in fostering bilateral business relationships between the two countries. The Chamber said it is committed to promoting trade, investment, and economic cooperation between Nigeria and Germany.