The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria will launch an Industrial Energy Cost Reduction and Adoption Programme in November to cut energy costs for manufacturers and improve competitiveness.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Ifeanyi Okoye, MAN president, said the programme will launch at an upcoming two-day energy summit themed ‘Innovative Energy for Cost-Effective Smart Manufacturing with Structured Financing,’ scheduled for November 3 to 4 at Legend Hotel Lagos Airport in Ikeja.
The summit, themed ‘Innovative Energy for Cost-Effective Smart Manufacturing with Structured Financing,’ is convened by MAN through its power and energy vehicle, Manufacturers Power Development Company Ltd, in partnership with the German development agency GIZ and the Nigerian Energy Support Programme, he said.
“This is convened to bring national and international prominence to the critical dialogue that directly impacts the survival, competitiveness, and sustainable growth of Nigerian industries,” Okoye said.
He said the dialogue brings industrial energy security and energy efficiency to the fore, with a particular focus on cost reduction for the manufacturing sector.
Okoye said energy remains the single largest operating cost centre and structural bottleneck for Nigerian manufacturers.
“High electricity tariffs, grid unreliability, fuel price volatility, and heavy dependence on expensive self-generation severely erode the competitiveness of our domestic industries,” he said.
He said the challenges not only hamper operational capacity but also fuel consumer price inflation, stifle job creation, and hinder Nigeria’s ability to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“To build a resilient, self-sustaining economy, we must address these challenges through a multi-faceted approach by expanding our energy infrastructure, accelerating energy efficiency adoption, diversifying industrial energy sources, and forging deep public-private capital partnerships,” Okoye said.
Okoye said the summit is intentionally curated as a high-level, result-oriented, invitation-only platform for industrial chief executives, policymakers, regulators, project sponsors, development partners, technology providers, financial institutions and upstream and midstream energy leaders.
Unlike conventional gatherings, the two-day event will feature executive policy dialogues, technical masterclasses and an energy technology showcase, with dedicated business-to-business matchmaking and structured financing sessions to facilitate commercial transactions, he said.
The launch of the Industrial Energy Cost Reduction and Adoption Programme, which is one of the focal areas, will accelerate MAN’s branch-wide decarbonization campaign and clean energy integration through factory roof solarization.
The programme covers solar PV, battery energy storage systems, captive natural gas-to-power and green hydrogen solutions, and will help manufacturers access carbon credits, Okoye said.
“We already have a case study at Nkpor in Anambra State, and we are encouraging more members to take advantage of the programme,” he said.
Other areas include advanced smart technology integration, exploring cutting-edge inventions, captive gas-to-power, and the application of artificial intelligence in smart industrial manufacturing.
The summit will also showcase energy efficiency networks to cut factory-level energy waste and drive cost-effective manufacturing, with the MPDCL-GIZ NESP award to the Energy Efficiency Network member.
Okoye said the summit will focus on structured financing and capital mobilization to unlock affordable debt and equity instruments, climate finance and carbon credits tailored for industrial energy transitions, and regulatory and market adaptation around state-level electricity markets, net-metering policies and decentralized power frameworks.
He said manufacturing remains the engine for job creation, economic diversification and sustainable GDP growth, and unlocking its full potential requires solving energy security.
“We deeply appreciate our strategic partners, GIZ and NESP, for their commitment to Nigeria’s industrial decarbonization and competitiveness journey,” he said.
Okoye asked the media to amplify the initiative and cover the proceedings extensively.