MAN president heads African Manufacturers Association

Mansur Ahmed, president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has been appointed as the interim chairman of the committee to evolve the African Manufacturers Association (AMA).

This follows the announcement made by Albert Muchanga,  commissioner of trade, African Union Commission (AUC), at the just concluded Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) held in Cairo, Egypt.

The role of the chairman is to supervise the process of working out the modalities of the association, in conjunction with other members, including drafting Articles of Association for the body in preparation for its inauguration next year, a statement by MAN says.

In addition, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, director-general of MAN, and Joyce Njogu, head of Kenya Association of Manufacturers Consulting, were appointed as joint interim secretaries to drive the process.

While accepting the role, Ahmed stated that he and other members of his Committee would engage all the manufacturers’ associations across Africa to mid-wife the birth of the pan-African body.

“Now is the time for the private sector to come together to tackle the challenges that hinder intra African trade,” he said.

He said that the platform of the association would enable manufacturers in Africa to engage, know and work with each other better to bring about inclusive growth on the continent.

Muchanga while inaugurating the interim council of the association noted that establishing the association was a direct fallout of the initiative of the African Union to promote and deepen Intra- African Trade in goods and services.

The official inauguration of AMA will hold before or during the African Industrialisation Day in November 2019.

The Association becomes necessary as the vision of African countries towards intra-African trade must be fully and effectively implemented with the cooperation of individual African countries, particularly their private sector.