By Steve Onyebuchi

Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Southeast, Lady (Dr) Adaora Chukwudozie has reassured the group’s preparedness to invest, create jobs and build export-oriented industries in the zone.

Chukwudozie who gave the assurance at the South East Vision 2050 Stakeholder Forum held in Enugu state, described Southeast as one of the most entrepreneurial regions in Africa.

She however maintained that Nigeria cannot develope without industrialization.

“As manufacturers, we are ready to partner with government. We are ready to invest. We are ready to create jobs. We are ready to build export-oriented industries. But industry needs systems, policy stability, and execution discipline.

“We look forward to a Vision 2050 framework that is not just aspirational, but executable—one that translates enterprise energy into industrial power and shared prosperity.

“The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, South-East, stands fully committed to this journey,” she added.

According to Chukwudozie, the initiative was not only timely and necessary, but strategic, expressing optimism that the Forum would mark the beginning of a new era of coordinated, competitive, and inclusive growth for our region.

Her words, “I speak today on behalf of the organised private sector, particularly manufacturers in the South-East those who invest, produce, employ, and export often under some of the most challenging operating conditions in the country.

“Our people build, trade, innovate, and create. Yet we must be honest: our industrial potential remains constrained by infrastructure gaps, high energy costs, weak logistics, limited access to long-term finance, and fragmented regional coordination.

“Despite these challenges, the South-East already possesses strong advantages: the highest concentration of indigenous manufacturers, dense SME networks, and a strong diaspora capital base ready to invest—if the right structures are in place.

“Manufacturing is not trading. Manufacturing is long-term, capital-intensive, and productivity driven. If Nigeria is to industrialise, the South-East must industrialise.

“SEV2050 therefore represents a defining opportunity to build a true production economy—anchored on industrial parks, agro-processing corridors, a regional energy backbone, SME clusters, and a skilled workforce.

“This Vision should be delivered through state-anchored industrial clusters—leveraging Abia’s manufacturing depth, Anambra’s enterprise density, Enugu’s logistics and services hub potential, Ebonyi’s agro-processing strengths, and Imo’s emerging energy assets.

“Our clear ask is simple: prioritise reliable energy, shared industrial infrastructure, and patient long-term finance as the foundation of this Vision