Nigeria And India Deepen Cooperation To Revive Textile Industry
Nigeria and India have stepped up efforts to revive Nigeria’s struggling textile sector through investment partnerships, technology transfer, skills development, and expanded bilateral trade initiatives.
The development was highlighted at the Textile Meet and Business-to-Business (B2B) Nigeria–India engagement held at the Indian High Commission in Abuja.
India’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, said both countries possess complementary strengths that could help reposition textiles as a key pillar of economic cooperation.
He noted that India is ready to support Nigeria’s textile revival through investments across the value chain, including ginning, spinning, and processing facilities in cotton-producing regions such as Katsina and Zamfara.
According to him, India can also provide technology transfer in modern weaving, digital printing, and dyeing, while Indian machinery manufacturers could supply equipment supported by training and buy-back arrangements.
Singh stated that India exported textiles and apparel worth US$ 37.75 billion in 2024–25, but said trade with Nigeria remains below potential due to structural challenges, including import restrictions, logistics costs, foreign exchange constraints, and competition from low-cost suppliers.
He added that Nigeria’s textile exports stood at US$ 25.69 million in 2024, with India accounting for only about 5% of that trade.
The High Commissioner also pointed to opportunities in Nigeria’s growing fashion industry, valued at over US$ 4.7 billion, citing the global rise of platforms such as Lagos Fashion Week and Arise Fashion Week. He noted that India is exploring collaboration between the National Institute of Fashion Technology and Nigeria’s fashion institutions in Lagos.
As part of new engagement measures, he announced a bi-monthly India–Nigeria trade webinar series in partnership with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), aimed at directly connecting exporters and importers from both countries. He also highlighted India’s annual offer of 250 fully funded training slots under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme, including textile-related courses.
Business leaders in Nigeria described the textile sector as a critical but underdeveloped part of the economy. Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) noted that textiles once played a central role in employment and industrial growth and called for stronger implementation-focused partnerships.
Separately, NACCIMA President Jani Ibrahim warned that rising textile imports are severely impacting local manufacturing, citing import values of ₦1.06 trillion in 2025 compared to ₦726.18 billion in 2024.
He stressed that Nigeria requires a shift from dialogue to production-led collaboration, urging both countries to build concrete industrial partnerships that can rebuild local capacity, create jobs, and reduce dependence on imports.
