Nigeria’s top wine industry expert has said that over 40 million Nigerians consume wine on a regular basis, and that there are existing opportunities for the industry to continue to experience growth and also provide employment opportunities, post-covid. He also noted that the industry is currently worth over 300 billion naira, annually.
Victor Ikem who made the assertion while addressing issues on existing opportunities in the Nigerian wine industry said that shortage of manpower in the industry provides a great opportunity to tackle the unemployment problem through encouraging young Nigerians to come onboard the wine and hospitably industry and for them to seek employment in the various aspects of the industry’s value chain.
Nigerian’s unemployment rate currently stands at about 33% with many young graduates not able to find jobs within 6 to 12 months after graduation.
Ikem further hinted that there is huge prospect in the wine industry which can contribute to job creation and aid the economic recovery efforts due to losses recorded in the economy as a result of Covid19 pandemic.
He observed that import cost and clearing bottlenecks are some of the major challenges affecting growth of the industry, and that recurrent delays in custom clearing has tremendous implications on the viability of the wine business as an important sector of the economy.
Ikem further disclosed that plans were on to launch a wine school which will be focused on training and up skilling young Nigerians who are interested and ready to seek jobs in the wine industry.
“I think there is great opportunity for young graduates who are looking for jobs and even those who are employed but seeking additional sources of income, they can come into the wine industry because the entry requirements is not as complex as other industries and there are diverse value chain opportunities and relative low cost of entry which is a major advantage for anyone interested.
“There’s a need to formally train more fresh graduates on wines and spirits since more people are crossing over to wine and more Nigerians are well traveled and even schooled abroad so understand wine and its consumption culture” Ikem said.
Victor Ikem has nearly two decades of wine industry experience formally as national brand manager for a global spirits company and also general manager for one of Nigeria’s leading wine and spirit importer. He has participated in some of the largest wine events in the world such as the ProWein in Dusseldorf Germany, amongst many others.
Credit: Vanguard News Nigeria
O. J. Chidolue, Esq.
March 7, 2022 at 2:53 amFor the wine industry in Nigeria to grow and prosper, the customs clearing process must be harmonised and streamlined to address the vexing issue of clearing cost volatility.