Video - Unilever Nigeria reports 79 percent profit surge in 2024

The company says growth in its food and personal care segments helped fuel the profits. However, Unilever remains cautious about macroeconomic risks, citing volatile oil prices, forex shortages, and unfavorable fiscal policies.

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German automaker, Volkswagen set to begin e-tractor manufacturing in Nigeria

 

Volkswagen's introduction of e-tractors in Nigeria is a significant step towards enhancing agricultural mechanization in the country.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, disclosed the development after a meeting with Germany's Minister of State, Mrs. Katja Keul, at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

“We welcomed Volkswagen’s plans to introduce e-tractors to Nigeria, backed by the German government, as part of efforts to enhance agricultural mechanization,” Tuggar said.

The initiative is part of ongoing efforts by Nigeria and Germany to strengthen economic and industrial ties, with a focus on economic partnerships, regional security, and cultural collaboration.

Volkswagen's e-tractors are expected to revolutionize Nigeria’s agricultural sector by enhancing mechanization and boosting productivity.

Nigeria’s automotive industry

Despite the presence of local players in the industry, Nigeria has struggled to attract leading global manufacturers due to the non-implementation of the Auto Industry Development Plan.

Experts argue that the growth of the country’s automotive sector hinges on the full implementation of the Nigeria Auto Industry Development Plan, which has been approved by the Federal Executive Council but has yet to be signed into law.

Last year, Nigeria missed the opportunity to host Volkswagen’s new Body Shop and Assembly Plant, as the automaker instead finalized an agreement with the Egyptian government for its establishment.

The agreement followed Egypt’s introduction of the Automotive Industry Development Programme (AIDP), designed to promote local value addition, increase vehicle production, attract investment, and improve emission standards in the automotive sector.


Volkswagen’s return to Nigeria after decades signals growing confidence in the country’s economy after years of mismanagement and instability.

Volkswagen’s footprint in Africa

Volkswagen has established a new "Sub-Saharan" region, encompassing all countries south of the Sahara, to strengthen its presence and operations across Africa.

The newly formed Volkswagen Group Africa will oversee the company’s vision and strategic direction on the continent, where the brand has enjoyed decades of success.

Currently, Volkswagen operates manufacturing and assembly facilities in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana. In Rwanda, the company has been providing mobility solutions since 2018.

Notably, Volkswagen has already piloted a similar initiative in Rwanda, known as the GenFarm Project, which offers e-powered mechanized farming services to rural areas.

Last year, the group announced the start of operations of its multifunctional facility to pilot modern farming with e-tractors in Africa. The facility is in Gashora, Rwanda, about 60km from the capital, Kigali.

The project features e-tractors with swappable batteries, making sustainable farming more accessible and affordable for local farmers.

By Solomon Ekanem, Business Insider Africa

Manufacturing activity rebounds in Nigeria as cash crisis eases

Nigeria’s manufacturing activity pulled off a sharp growth last month, shaking off successive contractions in the two months preceding April.

The growth was recorded as the squeeze resulting from the central bank’s push to wean Africa’s largest economy off dependence on physical cash softened.

The country’s Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) came in at 53.8 for the month on increased production level and improvement in new business, according to newly issued factory activity data.

A reading higher than 50 points to growth, while any below that threshold implies a shrinking in PMI, which assesses the overall direction that business condition in the manufacturing industry is headed.

Hiring was restrained and employment consequently slowed as companies still grappled with uncertainty in some way, following the crisis.

“The easing of the cash shortage challenge in April saw improvement in both output and consumer demand,” Muyiwa Oni, Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, said.

Stanbic IBTC Bank works alongside S&P Global and Nigeria’s statistics office every month to provide the data.

“While the easier access to cash caused business activities to expand across key sectors (Agriculture, manufacturing, services and wholesales and retails sectors), firms however maintained caution in increasing staff head count,” Mr Oni further stated.

His optimism for activity in the near term is measured, considering that sentiment remains relatively weak and given the signals that access to cash will be steady, not dramatic.

The document highlighted a steep jump in input costs for manufacturers in April, not altogether unanticipated as Nigeria’s inflation climbed to 22 per cent in the preceding month, closing in on its 18-year peak.

Even though firms passed on the increased cost to customers, that was done sensitively in order to attract them, leading to the slightest rate of selling price increase in three years.

“Business sentiment remained subdued in April, despite a slight pick-up from March. In fact, optimism was among the lowest seen since the survey began in January 2014,” the report said.

By Ronald Adamolekun, Premium Times

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