10 Companies That Shutdown Over Worsening Economy

Over 10 manufacturing companies operating in Africa’s most populous country have halted operations in the last 10 years over worsening macroeconomic challenges.

Lingering foreign exchange scarcity, poor power supply, port congestions, multiple taxation, insecurity poor infrastructure, and accelerating among others are having severe implications on Nigerians and businesses.

High energy costs, the slowdown in industrial output, and a sluggish demand for products were also among a plethora of issues debilitating manufacturing activities in Nigeria.

Some of the manufacturing companies that have exited the sector in the last 10 years include:

1. Louis Carter Industries

In 2017, Louis Carter Industries shut down operations, forcing its over 40 staff members to rejoin an already crowded labour market.

Having battled with ballooning production cost, FX crunch, policy flip-flops, and high energy costs, Louis Carter, established in 1989, began wobbling till it got overwhelmed.

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The company, located in Nnewi, Anambra, produced plastic gallons, basins, and other plastic products.

2. Moak Enterprises

Once one of the biggest bottled/sachet water companies in Sango-Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, Moak Enterprises is only now a surviving memorial of something past as it closed down in 2021. Its products, ‘Meridian Waters,’ were consumed by the young and the old. An ultramodern company, Moak produced several trucks of sachet water each month and supplied it to wholesalers and retailers in Ogun State and beyond.

Moak was also one of the companies affected by the forex crisis as it shut down due to the increased cost of its raw materials.

3. Procter & Gamble (P&G)

P&G was celebrated by the Nigerian government, being the United States’ biggest non-oil investment in the country. Its own was a painful exit as there was a lot of fanfare around its establishment. It quit in 2018 (four years after).

The International Centre for Investigative Reporting found from those familiar with P&G’s operations that the company stopped production in Agbara, Ogun State, due to rising production costs caused by high import duties and energy costs.

The company was importing most of its raw materials but was hard hit by high tariffs set by the government and the FX crunch, which affected its capacity to import raw materials.

4. Tower Aluminium

Tower was set up in Nigeria in 1959 and served several homes in Nigeria and West Africa with aluminum products including pots, plates, spoons, and roofing sheets. It shut down operations in 2020.

5. GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria

Continued manufacturing became unsustainable for GSK and it decided to shut down its drug production plant at Agbara, Ogun State in 2021. The company has gone into contract manufacturing arrangements with Fidson Healthcare, another local manufacturer.

6. Mayor Biscuits Company Limited

Mayor Biscuits Company Limited (MABISCO), the indigenous biscuits company in Ogun State, Nigeria, has stated that they have shut down the company and would be selling the multi-million-dollar biscuits plant.

“We want to sell MABISCO because we want to concentrate on our area of core competence of business,’ the company said in a statement, adding that ‘to achieve that we have to divest appropriately’.

7. Technoflex Company Limited

Technoflex was a player in the industrial plastic and foam sub-sector. The company was shut down in 2017 due to rising production costs.

8. Evans Medicals

Evans Medicals was once one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria but lost its assets due to debt. It had procured machines and upgraded its production facilities to ensure it achieved the World Health Organisation’s prequalification that would enable it to compete in international contract rounds.

The company was excited and told this reporter at that time that it was bullish about its prospects and projections. In 2017, however, a court ordered that the drug maker’s assets be taken over by First Bank and the defunct Skye Bank due to bad debt. This ended Evans’ dreams.

9. Multi-Trex Integrated Foods Plc

This company performed optimally until funding problems started. The company was forced to borrow from the defunct Skye Bank to stay afloat, but that decision turned out to become its Achilles heel. The Asset Management Corporation Organisation of Nigeria eventually took over the business, but the company’s productivity fell drastically.

10. Other companies include Surest Foam Limited, Mufex, Framan Industries, Deli Foods, Stone Industries, and MZM Continental, among others.