The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged Nigeria to deliberately and aggressively target global investors and relocating supply chains to reduce import dependence, deepen local manufacturing and create jobs.
She made the call on Wednesday at Nigeria House during the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Speaking during a panel discussion titled “From Scale to Capital: Financing Nigeria’s Role as Africa’s Digital Trade and Infrastructure Anchor,” Okonjo-Iweala said rising geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and China, have accelerated global supply chain diversification.
She noted that many multinational firms are now adopting “China+1” strategies to minimise risk by sourcing production outside China, even though the country remains central to global value chains.
“Firms are increasingly adopting China+1 sourcing strategies to reduce single-country risk, although China remains deeply embedded in many global value chains,” she said.
She added that tariffs and trade restrictions have further pushed companies to rethink overreliance on dominant suppliers, creating openings for countries like Nigeria to attract new investments.
According to the WTO chief, Nigeria must actively position itself to take advantage of these shifts by deliberately marketing itself to investors and identifying sectors with the strongest potential.
“There are reforms being pursued right now, and they are important, but they must translate into job creation,” she said. “We need to move from stabilisation to job creation. That is where the gap is.”
Okonjo-Iweala said Nigeria should strategically map out investment opportunities and directly court investors across major economies, including China, the United States and other global markets.
“If there is one thing I would emphasise, it is that everything we can do to showcase Nigeria as a country worthy of investment is what we should be doing,” she said.
“We should deliberately go after those investments and investors. As companies diversify supply chains, much of that movement is still within Asia, including India. Nigeria should aim to attract a sizeable share of that.”
She highlighted renewable energy, textiles and manufacturing as key areas Nigeria should focus on, stressing the need to move from importation to local production.
“Let’s build solar panels in Nigeria. We are importing, but we can also manufacture. We have the renewable capacity,” she said.
On the textile industry, she added: “Every time I buy wax fabric, I check where it’s made. Many of the shiny new textiles we wear are not made in Nigeria. Let’s attract investment to produce them locally.”
Okonjo-Iweala also identified the pharmaceutical sector as another area with strong potential for supply chain relocation and investment.
“Pharmaceuticals—there is a chance there as well. These are some of the supply chains I would be attracting,” she said.
Also on the panel was the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Dr Oludapo Olusi, as discussions focused on positioning Nigeria as a regional anchor for digital trade and infrastructure development.
