The Nigeria Halal Economy Report 2023 aims to inspire and empower government entities in Nigeria, industries, and investors to grow Nigeria’s presence in the global and regional halal economy. Simplifying trade regulations, enhancing production competitiveness, increasing consumer awareness, and fostering partnerships are some of the strategies that can help Nigeria develop and grow its halal economy. This report offers insights and recommendations to enable Nigeria to tap into the potential of its halal market and contribute to the growth of the global halal industry.
Overall, this report estimates Nigeria’s halal economy opportunity to further boost its GDP by $1.6 billion annually (mid scenario) within the next 4 years through incremental exports, import substitution and FDI opportunities. The report presents key sectors and markets and overall strategic areas based on a National Halal Economy Strategy framework to expand trade and investment opportunities.
The Lucrative Opportunity Awaiting Nigeria’s Leadership in Africa’s Halal Economy
Nigeria has a strong agriculture and media sector base and a developing Islamic finance ecosystem globally. It is the largest producer of cassava in the world, producing over 19% of the global production. Nollywood is the world’s 2nd largest film industry that opens opportunities for Islamic-themed movies as well. Regionally, Nigeria is the largest sukuk issuer in Africa and Lagos has become West Africa’s fashion capital.
In terms of trade, Nigeria is the 11th largest exporter of halal products to Organization for Islamic corporation (OIC) within the African region. It exported a total of US$379 million in halal products (food, pharma, cosmetics) to OIC countries.
In Islamic finance, many opportunities exist to support the development of halal products and services. These include Shariah-compliant, traditional, and alternative working capital finance and business asset finance for SMEs.
The Strategic Path Forward
Shortcomings: Closer cooperation is needed between industry players and government to build a halal economy strategy and regulations to efficiently meet the local and regional demand for halal products and services. This would also attract investments from the region and globally, positioning Nigeria as a leader of Africa’s halal economy. First priority should be emerging sectors of Islamic finance and halal food, where further investment could help build scalable companies addressing a robust domestic demand. There is also lack of consumer and industry awareness around other halal economy sectors such as halal cosmetics and halal pharmaceuticals.
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