• Image: Francis Meshioye, MAN President
A comparison between the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) Stanbic IBTC Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria CEOs Confidence Index (MCCI) has indicated a slight improvement in the manufacturing sector’s performance throughout 2025.
Data obtained by Industrial Times from both organisations reveals that while the NESG IBTC BCM recently reported sustained economic growth for the 11th consecutive month in the sector, the MAN CEOs’ Confidence Index, growth rose slightly to 50.7 in the third quarter of 2025 from 50.3 in the previous quarter.
This represented about 0.4 percent increase, marking the second consecutive quarterly rise and signalling a gradually improving outlook.
The NESG IBTC BCM report stated: “In October 2025, Nigeria’s business environment maintained its positive trajectory, with the Current Business Performance Index remaining in the expansion zone.
The NESG Stanbic IBTC Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) recorded a marginal increase to 111.3 points from 107.9 points in September 2025 and 76.8 points in the same period of 2024.
This improvement reflects a mix of sectoral dynamics, notably strengthened business performance across sectors and a surge in growth within the manufacturing sector.
A sectoral review showed that all five broad economic activities remained in the expansion region.
The Manufacturing and Trade sectors recorded the strongest gains, rising by 8.8 and 7.8 points to 111.3 and 115.4, respectively, during the month. Non-Manufacturing (115.0), Agriculture (111.4), and Services (111.0) also expanded, albeit at a slower pace than in September 2025.
Muyiwa Oni, Regional Head of Equity Research for West Africa at Standard Bank Group, said: “Broad sectoral improvement in activities influenced an increase in Nigeria’s business conditions for the third consecutive month, extending the expansion in general activities for the 11th month running.
More notably, the manufacturing sector improved the most in October, amid higher production, improved demand, and increased access to credit.
We believe lower inflation and a stable exchange rate supported an improvement in demand and production.“
The breakdown of the manufacturing sector showed better performance across the food & beverage, cement, and plastic & rubber products sub-sectors.
Nonetheless, the level of optimism in October was lower than that seen in September, reflecting weaker optimism levels across the Manufacturing sector, Non-manufacturing industries, and Services.
Where future sentiments increased, survey participants linked it to ongoing policy reforms, stable exchange rate, gradual recovery in consumer demand, and seasonal economic activity.”
In the same vein, MAN, during the presentation of its Q3 2025 CEO’s Confidence Index (MCCI) — a quarterly gauge of CEOs’ perceptions of the manufacturing sector and the overall economy, confirmed a slight increase in sectoral activities during the period under review.
MAN Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, noted: “While the increase may appear marginal, it is significant because it points to cautious optimism that the sector is beginning to find its footing after a long period of turbulence.”
Ajayi-Kadir, however, warned that the recovery remains fragile and could easily falter without deliberate, industry-friendly interventions.
In the report, Dr. Oluwasegun Osidipe, MAN’s Director of Research and Economic Policy, noted that the manufacturing sector showed modest resilience, with capacity utilisation rising to 61.3 percent in the first half of 2025 from 57.6 percent in H2 2024.
He added that real output growth slowed slightly to 1.6 percent in Q2 2025, contributing 7.81 percent to GDP, down from 9.62 percent in the previous period.
“The modest yet consecutive rise in the MCCI reaffirms that Nigeria’s economy is on a path of gradual recovery,” Osidipe said.
He emphasised the need to sustain policy consistency and protect exchange rate stability to consolidate the gains recorded so far in 2026.
