PROPAK West Africa summit: Building resilience in Nigeria’s packaging supply chain

Packaging has quietly emerged as manufacturers’ new battlefield as West Africa’s economies expand and consumer appetites grow.

Beyond its use as a vessel for products, packaging now determines shelf life, ensures regulatory compliance, shapes brand perception, and unlocks or blocks export potential.

Amid the global tremors from pandemic shutdowns to wars and conflicts, which have shown just how brittle a supply chain stretched too thin can be, the question facing West Africa is whether the region can build systems sturdy enough to unlock industrial opportunity instead of chaining it.

The 2025 PROPAK West Africa summit drove the point home under the Theme: ‘Unlocking Opportunities in West Africa’s Packaging Supply Chain’ as conversations revealed a manufacturing ecosystem in transition, with industry leaders framing packaging as a decisive lever for growth. Their discourse carried equal parts, opportunity and urgency.

Peter Ajakaiye, director at BIC’s Sagamu manufacturing plant, observed that the supply chain process is the lifeline of business and the economy; when it breaks down, entire systems suffer.

He noted that Nigeria’s surging population is driving massive demand, yet this appetite collides with structural weaknesses: unreliable power, regulatory unpredictability, and chronic raw material shortages.

Ajakaiye said that the future of packaging in West Africa will be shaped by those who choose to build it, adding that the choice now is whether to transform packaging from bottleneck into competitive advantage, or watch as more agile markets capture the value that should rightfully belong to Nigeria.

On the issue of sustainability, the director acknowledged the challenge, noting that Europe has set a target for all packaging to be 100 percent recyclable by 2030.

According to him, Nigeria and West Africa must align with these sustainability trends, adding that without collaborative frameworks, consumer education, and certification systems, sustainable packaging risks remaining an aspiration rather than a reality.

Commenting on the need for industry collaboration, Ajakaiye said that collaboration must become the operating principle of the industry, as unlocking opportunities requires partnerships.

“Companies must come together, share costs, and build collective strength. Packaging companies will only thrive if they collaborate in backwards integration and shared sourcing,” he said.

He further pointed out that the strategies discussed at PROPAK are not theoretical ideals, but are being tested and proven daily at facilities such as BIC’s manufacturing plant in Sagamu.

“Operating as a vertically integrated hub serving West Africa, the plant demonstrates how local manufacturing, supplier partnerships, and global standards can coexist profitably”.

All packaging materials for BIC’s pens, shavers, and lighters are sourced locally, with suppliers treated as development partners rather than just vendors. BIC supports these suppliers in securing ISO certifications, lifting capabilities across the entire ecosystem, which reflects the fact that the same BIC pen sold in Paris is manufactured in Sagamu, a statement of both quality parity and cost efficiency,” he added.

Packaging is no longer the silent partner of manufacturing. It is the stage where trust is built, costs are contained, and sustainability is tested. As the PROPAK session made clear, the question is not whether opportunities exist, but whether industry leaders will choose to build them.

What the PROPAK discussions revealed is an industry ecosystem recognising packaging’s strategic centrality while grappling with practical constraints. At this inflexion point, Nigeria possesses the essential ingredients for packaging transformation. The market exists, infrastructure is developing, and successful models are proven.

For Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, building cannot wait for perfect conditions. A surging population and expanding middle class have placed unprecedented opportunity within reach.