The Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, on 5th August 2026 moderated a high-level panel session on Day Two of the ECOWAS Regional Automotive Industry Development Forum in Abuja, where policymakers, manufacturers, regulators and industry leaders explored strategies for attracting investment into automotive manufacturing and assembly across West Africa.
The panel, themed “Unlocking Investor Commitment to Automotive Manufacturing and Assembly Across the ECOWAS Region,” examined the policy, regulatory and market reforms needed to stimulate sustainable investment and strengthen the region’s automotive industry.
In his opening remarks, Osanipin highlighted the sector’s potential to drive industrialisation through local manufacturing, component production, technology transfer, job creation and stronger regional value chains. He noted that despite West Africa’s growing vehicle market, challenges such as dependence on imported vehicles, underutilised assembly capacity, fragmented markets, limited local sourcing and policy uncertainty continue to hinder investment.
He stressed the need for predictable policies, harmonised regulations and stronger collaboration between governments, regulators and the private sector to create an enabling environment for long-term investment.
The panel featured the Chairman/CEO of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM), Chief Innocent Chukwuma; Plant Manager of Japan Motors Ghana, Mr. Mohammed Byrouth; a representative of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Adeyemi Folorunsho; and the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Prof. George Agyei.
Discussions focused on improving policy certainty, strengthening local component manufacturing, supporting SMEs, promoting regional sourcing and harmonising automotive standards and vehicle homologation across ECOWAS Member States to enhance market access and investor confidence.
The session concluded with a collective call for coordinated regional policies that will encourage investment, deepen regional integration and position ECOWAS as a competitive hub for automotive manufacturing and assembly.
