Follow Us on Google
Experts have identified innovation, stronger collaboration, digital transformation and supportive government policies as critical to unlocking the vast growth potential of Nigeria’s paint industry.
They made the call at the 33rd Annual General Meeting of the Paint Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMA), themed, “Future of Nigeria’s Paint Industry: Strategy for Growth and Sustainability.”
Chairman of PMA and Group Managing Director of Chemstar Industries Limited, Adedayo Paseda, said the Federal Government must create a more enabling business environment to support the industry’s expansion.
According to him, insecurity remains one of the biggest obstacles to investment, making the movement of goods across the country risky and expensive. He said improving security would boost investor confidence and lower operating costs.
Paseda also stressed the need to improve road infrastructure, noting that poor road conditions often delay the transportation of paint products across the country, increasing logistics costs and disrupting supply chains.
He urged the government to review import tariffs and duties on raw materials, explaining that over 95 per cent of the industry’s raw materials are imported. Lower duties, he said, would reduce production costs and make finished products more affordable for consumers.
Delivering the keynote address, Principal Consultant, Tomflims, Associates International Limited, Dr Lekan Ogundimu, said Nigeria’s paint market is on a structured growth path.
He noted that while decorative paints continue to dominate the market, protective coatings are emerging as the fastest-growing segment, driven by rising industrial activities and infrastructure development.
Ogundimu observed that although the industry is dominated by five major players, hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises continue to serve niche markets, creating opportunities for broader participation and collaboration.
He identified rapid urbanisation, infrastructure development and increasing consumer preference for environmentally friendly products as key drivers of industry growth, adding that the growing acceptance of locally manufactured products presents significant opportunities for indigenous paint manufacturers. He urged companies to embrace digital transformation, saying the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence would strengthen market presence, improve customer engagement and support data-driven decision-making.
He also urged manufacturers to strengthen supply chains, adopt lean production processes and deepen collaboration across the value chain to improve competitiveness.
Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, welcomed PMA’s commitment to partnering with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) to promote local sourcing of raw materials.
He described the collaborations as strategic to Nigeria’s industrial development, assuring PMA of MAN’s support in building a more competitive and profitable paint manufacturing industry.
Director-General of SON, Dr Okeke, commended the long-standing partnership between the agency and PMA, saying it has strengthened product conformity and compliance with quality standards.
He urged manufacturers to adhere strictly to approved standards to enable Nigerian products compete in international markets.
“To achieve quality and boost exports, we must embrace standards. When we produce quality products, we will have enough to export,” he said.
Okeke encouraged manufacturers to register with SON and obtain the agency’s Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) certification, noting that certified products inspire consumer confidence and enhance the competitiveness of locally manufactured goods.
Immediate past Chairman of PMA, A.S. Babatunde, lamented the high cost of production resulting from the industry’s dependence on imported raw materials, saying more than 60 per cent of inputs are sourced from abroad.
He also blamed inadequate electricity supply, recurring national grid collapses, vandalism of power infrastructure and gas supply bottlenecks for worsening manufacturers’ operating costs.
Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Dr Nnayelugo Martin Ikemounso, called on the industry to reduce its dependence on imported raw materials by harnessing Nigeria’s abundant mineral and agricultural resources.
He said the council has developed several indigenous raw materials for industrial use and continues to promote local content development, technology transfer and collaboration between researchers and manufacturers.
Ikemounso urged stakeholders to invest in research, quality improvement, environmentally friendly production and local sourcing, saying stronger collaboration would help build a resilient paint industry capable of creating jobs, conserving foreign exchange and competing across African markets.
