Foreign Retail Competition Threatens 27.5% Of Nigeria’s Workforce

The livelihoods of about 27.5 percent of Nigeria’s workforce engaged in wholesale and retail trade are under growing threat from intensifying foreign competition, industry stakeholders have warned.
The trade sector remains the second-largest employer in Nigeria after agriculture, dominated by micro, small and medium enterprises, market traders and informal retailers who depend on daily sales for survival.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed wholesale and retail trade accounts for 27.5 per cent of employment, making it a critical buffer for livelihoods especially for women and youth.
Stakeholders warned that if the trend continues unchecked, millions of jobs could be lost, incomes eroded and poverty deepened in urban and peri-urban centres where trade is the mainstay.
They called for deliberate policies to protect local traders, including stricter enforcement of standards against substandard imports, incentives for Made-in-Nigeria products, affordable financing for MSMEs, and regulation to ensure fair competition in the retail space.
They added that supporting the trade workforce is essential not only for job preservation but for sustaining domestic value chains and inclusive economic growth.
Speaking, the national president of Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr. Olufemi Egbesola warned that involvement of foreign nationals in Nigeria’s retail trade threatens millions of small businesses.
Egbesola urged the federal government to set clear boundaries for foreign participation in the trading sector.
He said while Nigeria needs foreign investment to create jobs and transfer technology, it should not allow unrestricted participation in last-mile retail where local MSMEs operate.
“It is right to encourage investment, but we should not allow these foreign investments to have unrestricted rights to our trade, particularly retail,” he said.
The director/CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf raised concern over growing participation of foreign nationals, particularly Chinese traders, in Nigeria’s retail trade.
He said the trend threatens employment and fair competition, urging urgent policy review.
He noted that distributive trade employs an estimated 27.5 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce and sustains millions of MSMEs across textiles, ICT accessories, auto spare parts and household goods.
Yusuf said China remains Nigeria’s leading import source and a key partner, adding that CPPE is not against Chinese investment but against movement of foreign suppliers downstream into retail where Nigerians have capacity.
“A situation where overseas manufacturers sell to Nigerian importers and then compete directly with them at retail creates concerns about market structure,” he said.
He said reports of foreign retail activity and protests by traders in major markets should not be ignored, especially amid unemployment and high financing costs.
Yusuf called for review of business permits, expatriate quotas and immigration approvals, stressing that quotas should facilitate scarce skills, not displace Nigerians from non-specialized retail.
He said Nigeria needs calibrated liberalization that encourages foreign investment in manufacturing, infrastructure and agro-processing, but protects retail which is critical to jobs and entrepreneurship.
He said government should enforce a clear national policy for all foreign nationals operating in sectors dominated by MSME, expressing concern that local businesses could be displaced by foreign firms with greater capital and access to cheaper imports.
He, however, said government must also fix structural factors giving foreigners advantage, including high interest rates, poor electricity, weak infrastructure and complex regulation, saying that “they have access to cheaper funds at single-digit interest. They have constant electricity. We do not.”
He added that Nigeria should not shut its doors to investors but must define where they can operate without displacing Nigerians, explaining that “when foreign nationals move beyond wholesale into direct retail competition, it becomes a threat to Nigerian small businesses.”
Also, the director-general of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) called for greater scrutiny of foreign participation in the retail market, saying that Nigeria should examine the level of economic activities permitted to foreign businesses.
He noted that other countries operate frameworks that regulate foreign participation in certain areas of their domestic economies.