More Japanese companies working to set up plants in Nigeria- JETRO

Apart from Isuzu Motors Limited, Honda, Koncept Autocentre Limited, CFAO Yamaha Motors Nigeria Limited and a number of firms already in Nigeria, more Japanese companies are looking to be in the country, according to Taku Miyazaki, trade commissioner and managing director, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Miyazaki, who said this during the launch of Japan-based Brother Industries’ products in Lagos, stressed that despite economic challenges faced by Nigeria, many companies from Japan were willing to explore the country’s market.

He said Japanese companies in Nigeria often created jobs and transferred technology, whether they had local plants in the country or not.

Brother Industries launched into Nigeria with its brand of printers, scanners and fax machines.

The firm expects to take a large share of the printing industry/ market in Nigeria, having secured a preferred partner, Skysat Technologies.

Brother Industries is offering three-year warranty for its products and says that printing 6,000 pages in black/white or 5,000 pages in other colours can go as low as N4, 500.

The partnership between Brother Industries and Skysat Technologies will oversee training and certification of Nigerian technicians as a form of technology transfer.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, Soichi Murakami, managing director of Brother Industries, said the official launching of the company in Nigeria fulfilled a long-time dream of the company to bring affordable and efficient products characterised by Japanese design, quality and ease of ease, into Africa’s biggest economy.

Soichi said Brother’s inkjet printers, ink tank printers, laser printers, label printers and scanners were recognised as the best in the industry and its entrance into the Nigerian market would revolutionise printing and office equipment management.

Izzat Debs, MD/CEO, Skysat Technologies, said the entry of Brother into the Nigerian market would leverage on the success of Skysat Technologies as a market leader in the inkjet and laser printers/MFP.

Debs said Skysat would deploy its network of dealers across the country to make the entry of Brother products into the Nigerian market a huge success.

Yasuhiro Hashimoto, head of Economic and Commercial Section of Embassy of Japan in Nigeria, stated that Nigeria was a lucrative market despite its challenges, adding that such hiccups in the country served as opportunities.

“Partnership between Nigeria and Japan is important. We hope that Japanese companies in Nigeria will continue to expand,” Hashimoto said.

ODINAKA ANUDU