By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Lagos State Government has announced plans to commission a large-scale leather production hub in Mushin, designed to serve as a key driver of local manufacturing, skills development, and economic empowerment.
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed this at the 2025 Lagos Leather Fair held recently. Hs noted that the facility will strengthen Nigeria’s leather industry and deepen support for small-scale manufacturers and artisans.
Representated by the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, he stated, “This facility is not just a building; it is an ecosystem. We want people to come here to learn, and even operate factory-level production to scale their businesses. Lagos State is serious about turning creativity into industry and ideas into income. This is our way of institutionalising the leather sector as a viable industry in Lagos.”
Sanwo-Olu noted that the leather industry holds immense potential for job creation and value addition and must not be overlooked. “This goes beyond artisanship it’s about the creative aspect.
How people can be independent and do their own thing. The government will give all it takes to support them,” he said.
He emphasized that the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) has played a critical role in providing both skills training and seed funding to young entrepreneurs. “You can see what the LSETF has done; from training to upskilling and providing start-up capital. The Ministry too is going to support the agency to make sure we keep this up. By next year, we plan to increase the number of beneficiaries.”
The fair, themed “Designing for Tomorrow,” brought together stakeholders from across the leather value chain, including policymakers, artisans, designers, and tech experts, to chart a path for the future of the industry.
Speaking during one of the panel sessions, tech entrepreneur and speaker Scott Eneje emphasized the need to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation into Nigeria’s creative economy. “A fair like this opens us to what’s really happening; the skills people have and the gaps in our ecosystem,” he said. “We need to go beyond social media buzz to building real, scalable businesses that create jobs and value.”
He challenged Nigerian creatives to take ownership of AI by training machines with local data, not just consuming tools developed abroad. “The data is us. If 100 of us sit down and train one machine, we’re giving it a Nigerian voice. It’s not someone in the US telling it what matters here; we should be in control.”
Eneje also underscored the importance of local market penetration. While he acknowledged that digital platforms had eased access to global markets, he argued that the greater challenge lies in scaling within Nigeria. “It’s easy now to be noticed in China from your bedroom in Lagos, but how do we get Nigerians to value Nigerian products just as much? There are over 200 million people here; that’s a market we can’t ignore.”
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