Important Things the Nigerian Government Can Do to Sustain Textile Factories and Prevent Another Wave of Mill Closures
The textile industry has an important role to play in Nigeria’s economic development because it can create jobs, support cotton farmers, develop manufacturing skills, reduce dependence on imported fabrics, and promote Nigerian culture through products such as Ankara. However, Nigeria’s textile industry has experienced serious difficulties over the years, with many textile mills closing or operating below capacity. The challenges have included unreliable and expensive electricity, difficulty accessing affordable finance, weak local supply chains, competition from imported and illegally traded textiles, inadequate infrastructure, and policy instability. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) itself identifies inadequate energy supply, limited access to affordable financing, poor infrastructure, and multiple taxation as important challenges facing Nigerian manufacturers. (Central Bank of Nigeria)
To ensure that new and existing textile factories—such as businesses specialising in customised Ankara fabrics—do not suffer the same fate, the Nigerian government should take the following measures.
1. Provide reliable and affordable electricity
One of the most important steps the government can take is to improve the reliability and affordability of electricity for manufacturers. Textile production requires substantial and continuous power for spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing, and other processes. When factories depend heavily on expensive alternative sources of power, their production costs rise and their products become less competitive.
The government should therefore improve electricity distribution, encourage dedicated power solutions for industrial clusters, and support renewable-energy options where appropriate. It should also ensure that electricity-sector reforms translate into dependable service for productive businesses. The CBN has recognised the link between inadequate energy supply and the poor competitiveness of manufacturing, while its interventions include programmes aimed at improving energy infrastructure. (Central Bank of Nigeria)
For a company producing customised Ankara fabrics, reliable electricity would make it easier to meet customer orders on time, maintain consistent production quality, and control operating costs.
2. Make long-term, affordable financing available to textile manufacturers
Textile factories require significant investment in machinery, maintenance, raw materials, technology, and skilled workers. High interest rates and short repayment periods can make it difficult for manufacturers to invest for the long term.
Government should strengthen targeted financing through institutions such as the Bank of Industry and other appropriate development-finance channels. Loans for genuine textile manufacturers should have reasonable interest rates, longer repayment periods, and conditions that reflect the long production cycles of manufacturing businesses. The government should also ensure that financing programmes are transparent and reach viable businesses rather than being lost through poor administration.
The CBN’s manufacturing interventions already recognise the importance of access to finance and include facilities designed to provide longer-term and concessionary funding to the real sector. (Central Bank of Nigeria)
3. Strengthen the entire cotton-to-textile value chain
A sustainable textile industry cannot depend only on the factory. It also needs reliable supplies of quality cotton, functioning ginneries, textile mills, designers, printers, garment manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
The government should therefore support cotton farmers with improved seeds, extension services, research, irrigation where appropriate, and better access to markets. It should also encourage investment in ginneries and other processing facilities so that manufacturers can obtain suitable local inputs.
The CBN’s Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) resuscitation project, launched in 2019, specifically aims to increase domestic cotton production, improve the capacity of ginneries and textile industries, promote self-sufficiency across the value chain, create jobs, and improve access to funding. Building a consistent and well-monitored version of this approach would help reduce supply disruptions for textile factories. (Central Bank of Nigeria)
4. Fight smuggling and illegal dumping while maintaining fair trade
Nigerian textile manufacturers need a fair competitive environment. If illegally imported or counterfeit textiles enter the market without proper enforcement of customs and trade rules, legitimate factories may struggle to compete.
The government should strengthen border and customs enforcement, improve market surveillance, and take action against counterfeit products. At the same time, trade policies should be predictable and consistent so that legitimate businesses can plan their investments with confidence.
This does not mean that Nigeria should simply close itself off from international trade. Rather, the objective should be to ensure that businesses operating legally in Nigeria compete on a reasonably level playing field. The CBN’s CTG initiative itself identifies the reduction of textile dumping and smuggling as part of its objectives. (Central Bank of Nigeria)
5. Maintain stable and predictable government policies
Manufacturers make investments that may take many years to recover. Frequent changes in import duties, taxes, foreign-exchange rules, energy policies, or restrictions on raw materials can make long-term planning difficult.
Government should therefore develop a clear, long-term textile and apparel industrial policy and maintain it consistently across political administrations. Any major policy changes should be properly communicated and introduced with reasonable transition periods.
Policy consistency is particularly important for a growing customised Ankara manufacturer. Such a company may need to invest in printing equipment, design technology, skilled employees, and distribution networks. Investors are more likely to make these commitments when they have confidence that the rules will not change unexpectedly.
6. Reduce multiple taxes and unnecessary regulatory burdens
Manufacturers already face high operating costs. Multiple taxes and overlapping charges from different levels of government can further increase the cost of doing business.
The government should simplify the tax and regulatory system, reduce unnecessary duplication among agencies, and make compliance easier for legitimate businesses. This would allow textile companies to devote more resources to production, employment, innovation, and expansion.
The CBN has identified multiple taxation as one of the challenges affecting Nigerian manufacturing, making tax and regulatory simplification an important part of any strategy to sustain the sector. (Central Bank of Nigeria)
7. Invest in industrial infrastructure and specialised textile clusters
Government should develop and maintain industrial parks and textile clusters with reliable electricity, water, roads, waste-management systems, telecommunications, and other essential infrastructure.
A well-planned textile cluster can reduce the cost of production because manufacturers can share infrastructure and gain easier access to suppliers, technical services, logistics providers, and skilled workers. Such clusters could also encourage cooperation between cotton producers, textile mills, fashion designers, garment manufacturers, and exporters.
This approach would be particularly useful for customised Ankara businesses because it could connect fabric producers with Nigerian fashion designers and clothing manufacturers, creating a stronger domestic market for locally produced fabrics.
8. Support technology, skills development, and innovation
Government support should not focus only on keeping factories open; it should also help them become competitive. Textile manufacturers need modern machinery, digital design and printing technologies, quality-control systems, and workers with relevant technical skills.
The government should therefore support vocational training, partnerships between universities and manufacturers, apprenticeship programmes, and research into modern textile production. It should also encourage companies to adopt technologies that improve productivity and product quality.
For a customised Ankara manufacturer, technology can make it easier to produce distinctive designs in response to changing customer preferences, while skilled workers can help maintain quality and reduce production waste.
9. Use government procurement to support quality Nigerian-made textiles
Government is a major purchaser of goods and services. Where appropriate and consistent with procurement law, public institutions can create demand for quality Nigerian-made textiles and garments by giving preference to locally produced goods.
Nigeria already has a policy direction that encourages government institutions to give preference to local content and Made-in-Nigeria goods. This principle should be implemented transparently, competitively, and with appropriate quality standards. (Central Bank of Nigeria)
Government procurement should not be used to protect inefficient companies indefinitely. Instead, it should help create a reliable market for competitive local manufacturers while encouraging them to meet quality, delivery, and pricing standards.
10. Help textile companies reach export markets
A sustainable textile industry should not depend entirely on domestic consumers. Nigerian textile manufacturers should be supported to develop export markets, particularly within Africa and other markets where Nigerian designs and cultural products have potential demand.
Government can assist by improving trade infrastructure, simplifying export procedures, providing market information, supporting international exhibitions, and helping manufacturers meet relevant quality and certification requirements.
This would give companies another source of revenue and reduce their dependence on a single domestic market.
11. Ensure that government support is transparent and performance-based
One important lesson from past industrial interventions is that government support must be carefully managed. Financial assistance should go to businesses that demonstrate genuine production capacity, sound management, and a realistic plan for sustainability.
Government should establish clear eligibility criteria, monitor the use of funds, publish results where appropriate, and evaluate whether programmes are actually increasing production, employment, productivity, and exports. Support should encourage businesses to become stronger and more competitive rather than making them permanently dependent on government assistance.
Conclusion
The survival of Nigeria’s textile industry will require more than a single government programme. It will require a coordinated approach that addresses electricity, financing, infrastructure, cotton production, trade enforcement, taxation, skills, technology, and market access at the same time.
The government’s existing Cotton, Textile and Garment resuscitation initiative shows that these challenges have already been recognised at policy level. However, the key issue is consistent implementation and long-term commitment. (Central Bank of Nigeria)
For new textile businesses, including companies specialising in customised Ankara fabrics, the goal should be to create an environment in which a well-managed factory can survive because it is productive and competitive—not because it is permanently dependent on government assistance. If Nigeria can provide reliable infrastructure, affordable finance, predictable policies, fair competition, strong local supply chains, and access to domestic and export markets, the country will have a much better chance of building a textile industry that remains sustainable for decades rather than repeating the cycle of factory openings followed by closures.
