Abia reactivates CFC to support leather and garment clusters in Aba

Abia State Government has reactivated the Common Facility Centre (CFC), established in May, 2008, to support the leather and garment clusters in Aba, the State’s commercial hub.

The ingenuity of Aba artisans, especially, the garment and leather clusters-comprising of shoe, belt and bag makers, attracted the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in partnership with the Federal Government, to set up the CFC in the city, to support the clusters to further develop their skills.

The strategy behind the setting up of the CFC was to gather unique and geographical concentration of enterprises, faced with common opportunities and challenges and with the primary objective of exploiting external economies through collective effort and sharing common facilities for enhanced processing of their products.

It is to also serve as a centre of excellence for capacity building and provision of cutting edge technology for competitiveness enhancement.

However, the facility has been dormant since it was commissioned, six years ago. Consequently, this move by the State Government to reactivate it and put it in use has been applauded by stakeholders.

Christian Nnajiaku, managing director, Kenzy Shoes in an interview with BUSINESSDAY observed that the shoe makers are yet to understand the purpose behind the setting up of the centre and urged the CFC management to enlighten its members on the facilities available at the centre and its importance to their production.

According to him, our members need to be enlightened. Majority of us are not aware of trends in the sector and if we must compete effectively, we need to imbibe modern trends, which includes the use of modern machinery and participation at workshops and seminars.

Aba has one of the largest concentrations of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria and a bulk of this number are engaged in leather works, steel fabrication and garment making, which could be attributed to the popularity of the city.

It is estimated that Aba hosts 110,000 shoemakers and 50,000 garment makers.

Consequently, it is the desire of the present administration in the State, led by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to provide an environment conducive for artisans and other business operators and the restoration of infrastructure to jump start industrial development in the State.

Ikpeazu observed that regeneration of Aba will create modern neighborhood markets and parks, including crucial developments of business and leisure along the Aba River, and new residential and business locations.

According to him, “Our story as a people is one of entrepreneurship, resourcefulness and diligence. This is our pride. We have astounded the world with our homegrown technical skills, especially during a period of pervasive adversity, and followed it up with our trade and commercial prowess elevating one of our cities, Aba, into a prominent commercial hub within the West African region.

“This historic renown is to become our future narrative. The time is ripe to use the over 110,000 shoemakers and 50,000 garment makers as a launching pad to enable Abia to truly become the undisputed SME capital of Nigeria”.

He stated that his administration was committed to providing the enabling environment and infrastructure to facilitate the growth and development of Abia and its people; positioning it as a premier residential, business and tourism destination, with the ultimate objective of uplifting the lives of the people.

He recalled that Aba was for many years a thriving hub for manufacturing and commerce until epileptic electricity supply and insecurity forced the shutdown of most indigenous and foreign owned industries.

Ikpeazu recognized and appreciated the efforts of the Geometric Power Group and the Federal Government’s NIPP project at Alaoji, towards providing a solution to the perennial challenges of electricity supply to the State.

The Governor observed that the forthcoming operations of the plants would provide a critical input towards the actualization of its blueprint and roadmap for the regeneration of Aba and the entire Abia State.

 

GODFREY OFURUM