Nigeria Manufacturing Enterprise Programme

From Raw Material to Manufacturing Enterprise — A National Pipeline

A 5-year national programme turning Nigeria's raw materials into manufacturing enterprises — owned by women and youth across all 36 states.

N-MEP is a national enterprise creation programme that converts 25 proven, patent-protected industrial pilot plants — housed at the RMRDC Research and Demonstration Plant Complex in Abuja — into a nationwide network of manufacturing enterprises, owned and operated by women and youth across all 36 states and the FCT. Every participant who completes the N-MEP pipeline receives hands-on technical training, a fully developed business plan, legal registration support, and a bespoke production machine custom-fabricated and installed at their enterprise site. Nigeria currently imports over USD 38 billion worth of goods it could produce at home. N-MEP is built to close that gap — one verified, commissioned manufacturing enterprise at a time.

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30,000+ Manufacturing
Enterprises

125,000+ Direct Jobs
Created

25 Pilot Plant
Pathways

37 States
& FCT

≥ 50% Female
Ownership

5 Years Programme
Duration

The N-MEP Pipeline

How It Works

Every enterprise created through N-MEP — in every state across Nigeria — passes through the same five-stage pipeline. The pipeline takes a participant from initial technology orientation through to a commissioned, operating manufacturing business. It takes 18 weeks from start to commissioning, not counting the post-launch mentoring phase.

This is not a training programme. It is an enterprise creation system — structured, verified, and quality-gated at every stage. A participant cannot move to the next stage without meeting the output requirements of the current one.

Technology Orientation

Participant orientation and selection of an approved pilot-plant technology pathway.

Technical Induction

Hands-on vocational and technical induction at the RMRDC facility in Abuja.

Enterprise Creation

Business development, enterprise planning, legal registration and commercial preparation.

Finance & Setup

Finance panel approval followed by machinery, facility and production setup.

Commissioning

Machine installation, quality checks and launch of the operating manufacturing enterprise.

Every stage is quality-gated. Participants advance only when the required outputs for the current stage have been met.

Partners & Sponsors

Partner With N-MEP

N-MEP is not a request for charity. It is an invitation to invest in a rigorously structured, independently verified programme that creates real enterprises, real jobs, and real import substitution — at national scale, across every state in Nigeria.

Partnerships are structured around three tracks, each addressing a distinct and fundable component of the programme. Sponsors may engage with one track or all three. Every partnership is recognised in programme publications, on the portal, and on the production equipment installed in commissioned enterprises.

Track 1

Institutional Readiness

What it funds

The certification of 250 enterprise facilitators (BDSP + GIZ-ICSS ToTFC) who will deliver the programme in all 36 states and the FCT. This is the foundational investment — without a trained facilitator workforce, no participant can be served.

Ideal Sponsors

Development finance institutions, bilateral development agencies, federal government allocations, multilateral organisations.

Sponsor Receives

Named as Founding Institutional Partner on the portal, all programme publications, and facilitator certification documents. Logo displayed in all 37 N-MEP training centres.

Contact the Programme Office

Track 2

Scholarship Support

What it funds

Partial scholarship support for participants who cannot afford the full cost of programme participation (training, accommodation in Abuja, transportation to and from the RMRDC facility, and stipends during training). The programme is designed so that participants contribute a portion — scholarships are partial, not full, to maintain commitment.

Scholarship Value

To be confirmed upon finalisation of per-participant cost breakdown (in preparation).

Ideal Sponsors

State Governments, Members of the National Assembly, Local Government Councils, corporate foundations, high-net-worth individuals, the Office of the First Lady, faith-based organisations.

Sponsor Receives

Named in the programme publication and on the portal as Scholarship Sponsor for their nominated constituency. Cohort-specific impact report delivered after each training cycle.

Contact the Programme Office

Track 3

Access to Finance (Enterprise Grant)

What it funds

The enterprise grant provided to each approved N-MEP graduate after the Finance Panel — covering machinery fabrication and installation, factory/facility setup, initial raw materials, packaging, working capital (6 months), equipment maintenance, quality certification, and project management.

Ideal Sponsors

Development finance institutions (BOI, CBN, Afreximbank), investment funds, impact investors, AGRA, bilateral agencies.

Sponsor Receives

Logo engraved on each sponsored enterprise's production machinery. Named in all programme publications. Enterprise-level impact reports. Portal recognition as Access to Finance Partner.

Contact the Programme Office

Note: Each “Contact the Programme Office” button will be replaced with a “Download Proposal” button once the per-track proposal PDFs are finalised. Proposals are currently marked “in preparation”.

Implementing Partners

Built on Institutional Strength

RMRDC Training School

The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), established by Act 28 of 2022, is Nigeria's apex institution for raw materials research, development, and utilisation. Through four decades of R&D, RMRDC has developed, validated, and patented 41 industrial processes and technologies — 25 of which are now commissioned as fully operational pilot plants at the RMRDC Research and Demonstration Plant Complex in Abuja.

The RMRDC Training School is the Council's capacity development arm — responsible for training enterprise facilitators and programme staff under N-MEP, delivering the Vocational Induction Programme (VIP) to participants at the RMRDC facility, and providing ongoing technical oversight of enterprise operations in the field.

Role in N-MEP: Institutional Host & Technology Partner

Kaduna Business School (KBS)

Kaduna Business School (KBS) is N-MEP's business creation and enterprise development partner. KBS holds the Nigerian franchise for the GIZ-ICSS enterprise creation methodology — a globally validated entrepreneurship model developed by the German International Cooperation (GIZ).

This methodology underpins the entire business creation phase of the N-MEP pipeline. KBS is responsible for training and certifying the N-MEP facilitator workforce under both the Business Development Service Provider (BDSP) and GIZ-ICSS Trained Facilitator-Coach (ToTFC) tracks, and for delivering the Manufacturing Enterprise Creation Programme to all N-MEP participants.

Role in N-MEP: Technical Partner & Programme Architect

Ready to become a manufacturing enterprise owner?

N-MEP provides the technology, the training, the business plan, and the machine. You provide the commitment.

Apply Now Contact the Secretariat