Private Sector Intensifies Call For Single-digit Loans For Manufacturers

The Organised Private Sector (OPS) has again called on the federal government to provide financing for local manufacturers at single-digit interest rates, warning that the current high borrowing costs are stifling industrial growth.

Speaking under the umbrella of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the OPS stressed the urgent need to ease access to affordable credit for manufacturers.

LEADERSHIP recalls that on January 8, 2026, the director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, had similarly urged the government to make single-digit interest rate financing available to manufacturers to support productivity and competitiveness.

Reiterating the call at the commissioning of The Mart Supermarket in Ogun State, the vice president of LCCI, Princess Layo Bakare-Okeowo, said manufacturers are grappling with high inflation, an unfriendly business environment, multiple taxation, and the impact of monetary policy tightening, making double-digit borrowing rates unsustainable.

She urged the federal government to deploy political will to promote competitive production of made-in-Nigeria goods by financing manufacturers at single-digit rates.

According to her, such intervention would help strengthen business infrastructure, boost entrepreneurship, and cushion the economic headwinds confronting the manufacturing sector.

Bakare-Okeowo noted that manufacturers are burdened by rising inflationary pressures driven by high-interest loans, insecurity, harsh operating conditions, monetary policy adjustments, and multiple taxes.

She explained that access to single-digit financing would enable manufacturers and industrialists to overcome inflationary pressures and sustain business growth.

She added that while the exchange rate remains high, its relative stability offers room for investor planning, noting that many players across the manufacturing value chain are severely impacted by the current economic crunch, which has constrained business expansion.

The LCCI vice president encouraged local investors to continue pushing market frontiers to enhance the ease of doing business, while calling on the government to stabilise the economy and support industry with affordable financing.

Also speaking, the director and chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, underscored the importance of the manufacturing sector in economic diversification, stressing that access to affordable finance is critical to the sector’s sustainability and growth.

OPS members further urged the government to create an enabling macroeconomic environment and facilitate industrial financing at single-digit rates, arguing that such measures would help manufacturers withstand inflationary pressures, drive investment, support economic diversification, and stimulate business expansion.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hon. Adebola Sofela, said the commissioning of The Mart regional outlet demonstrates the resilience, vision, and impact of private sector-led investment.

Sofela, who was represented by a commercial officer in the ministry, Mr Kehinde Omitogun, said the flagship store in OPIC was strategically established to strengthen commercial activities in the rapidly growing corridor.

He added that beyond offering modern retail services, the outlet would create meaningful employment opportunities, particularly for youths.