The Fabric Professionals and Dry Cleaners Association of Nigeria (FPDA) says Nigeria should give more attention to the cleaning and hygiene industry to benefit from its over $165 billion global industry value.
FPDA Chairman, Mr Enibikun Adebayo, said this during a news conference ahead of the association’s Clean Show Africa Conference on Thursday in Lagos.
Adebayo said that Nigeria’s dry cleaning industry was valued at $8.4 million in 2019 and was projected to grow at 6.4 per cent year on year for the next ten years.
“Even the statistics are now looking better than what they were before.
“It is now left for us to reposition the industry to the world because nobody is paying attention to this lucrative industry and this is what we want to address with the conference,” he said.
According to him, the association was launched in 2023 as a platform that educates its members to be better professionals, while stressing the need for collaboration in the cleaning and hygiene industry.
ALSO READ: Stakeholders advocate actions to address needs of boy-child
Adebayo said that the conference, which would hold on May 28 to May 29 in Lagos, would expose no fewer than 25,000 dry cleaners to the opportunities in the cleaning and hygiene industry.
He said that the conference would also focus on women in the drycleaning business, maintaining that reports revealed that women are better managers of drycleaning businesses.
Also, Managing Director, Wasche Paint Nigeria,Mrs Ruth Okunnuga, said Nigeria’s drycleaning and laundry industry has not been given the necessary support and publicity it deserves.
Okunnuga said, “The industry has gone for so long without proper structure and it is not attracting investment as it should.
“This is why we have put together this event to feature all industry experts and have pertinent discussions on how to create value that is needed to grow the industry.
“We want to revolutionise the sector to make it attractive for investors and potential professional dry cleaners and stakeholders,” she said.
She further said that the event provides a platform for better data collection critical for proper planning to galvanise growth of the industry.
Similarly, Managing Director, Zenith Exhibition, Mr Joseph Oru, said FPDA would leverage on the conference to engage the federal government on establishing institutions that would train dry cleaners to become professionals in the industry.
NAN
