Sidel Group, one of the world’s biggest packaging solutions providers, has opened a Nigerian office in Lagos in what’s expected to improve the revenue of the more than 175-year-old manufacturer and its customer base across West Africa in the next two years.
“Our mission to grow and to reach more than €2 billion in revenue within 2028 will be related a lot to the growth in Africa. And speaking of African countries, Nigeria together with Kenya is one of the most important opportunities for growth,” Pietro Cassani, president and chief executive officer of Sidel Group, told BusinessDay in an interview during the opening of the Lagos office on Wednesday.
The Lagos opening comes at a time when many multinationals are exiting Africa’s most populous nation due to volatility in exchange rate, high inflation and uncertainty around government policies. But the macroeconomic situation is improving with naira maintaining its rarest rally and inflation cooling to the lowest in about three years.
Cassani sees potential for growth in Nigeria, especially with the country having a larger youthful population compared to countries in Europe and America.
“Nigeria is a young country so opportunities of consumption and growth in population means needs for beverages and packaging. Nigeria being in the sub-Sahara is a huge opportunity.”
Cassani noted that opening a physical office in Nigeria is a strategic move to be “closer to our customers in order to understand their specific needs and offer technical support.”
The company which operates across 170 countries is deepening its operations in Africa with physical offices now in South Africa, Kenya and recently Nigeria even though it’s over two decades footprint in the country, offering packaging services to Coca-Cola.
Clive Smith, vice president customer management, Asia, Oceania and Africa at Sidel said investing in Nigeria was a well thought out plan, emphasising that the “timing is right” as the Swiss-based packaging solution giant sees growth opportunities in Africa’s biggest consumer market.
“Many customers in the beverage industry are now investing significantly into greater capacity because most of the West African countries’ growth is substantial compared to the rest of the world and the wealth of the population is growing each year,” Smith said.
Sidel specialises in providing complete lines, from packaging design and blowing to filling, labelling, and palletising, across PET, can, glass, and other materials.