of pencils

Ogbonnaya Onu, the minister of science and technology wants Nigeria to manufacture pencils, it’s a sound idea.

Nigeria uses pencils, we import all our pencils, there is no pencil manufacturing factory in Nigeria or West Africa. The raw materials for pencils wood, graphite, aluminum and rubber are all local, ...then PRODA (the Projects Development Agency) develops a local manufacturing process.... then the private sector takes over manufacturing...the minister says this will create 400,000 jobs....

Good thinking.

How has the minister determined this 400,000 new jobs figure? have studies been done? Why spend 2 years on this? .by the Ministers own timeline, the prototype pencil will be out in 2018.

I am careful not to be negative, but what is needed right now are immediate jobs, immediate scale up of existing production to create immediate local jobs.... Would it not be better for the Ministry to support what exists already? That will create jobs in 2016?

Take shoe manufacturing in Aba and Kano....this is already a large local SME employing thousands of Nigerians. ...using local hides and skin. .... all that is need are modern equipment to cut the leather and glue industrially.... we can scale this sector up in 6 months.... PRODA can do this.

There is a company in Kenya called Green Pencils Limited, they produce pencils from recycled newspapers.... they don’t use wood which is better for the environment, they started in 2012, they employ 30 staff, 30! (Does pencil manufacturing actually create 400,000 jobs?)

Would pencil jobs not be created faster by going to Kenya... studying that process, paying the licensing fee and kicking off here? We have newspaper here also.... the research for "green" pencils is proven. ...would that not be faster?

The Minister also spoke on FIIRO Federal Institute of Industrial Research; he says the “The FIIRO has developed more than 250 research studies up to the point of commercialization, and in incubation, we have an agency in charge that has done up to 1000 products.”

From the statement above, the issue is not research studies, we have hundreds of them, the Minister should focus on getting the Private sector to commercialize these already prepared studies, otherwise the risk is that this pencil research will also lie on the shelves in 2019 as well. Research is good, but application of research is much better.

we must continue to research and feed the marketplace, but we must also be mindful of the fierce urgency of now...

In essence, we have to have a plan to create immediate jobs, this should be the focus. ...the Minister should have this timeline as a guide...jobs in 2018...are still jobs.... but how will the man feed his family in 2016?

its our problem, we can fix it....

http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/even-in-digital-age-kenyan-company-finds-large-market-for-pencils/