Mr. Luqman Mamudu is Managing Partner,
Transtech Industrial Consulting, and former Director at the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC). He is billed to chair the conference session of the forthcoming 4th West Africa Automotive Show (WAAS) holding from May 14 to 16, 2024 at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. Mamudu responded to some questions from Transport Day recently.
Impression of WAAS
As a private sector initiative by an international firm BtoB event company limited in the UK , WAAS complements government efforts to grow Nigeria and indeed West Africa Automotive sector. The organisers have successfully leveraged their extensive network of automotive traders and manufacturers to bring real time attention to Nigeria The result is that the list of exhibitors and participants has grown over the years.
Impact On Local Automotive Industry
The show has impacted the automotive sector in Nigeria positively. Its a platform that provides a wide choice of Exhibitors and investors to Nigerians engaged in automotive activities. WAAS has attracted exhibitors from China, India Europe and Nigeria. For instance, Nigeria’s largest automotive components and parts dealers association, ASPMDA members has recorded several partnerships deals in the course of the shows. WAAS is therefore doing a good job as a trade facilitator in bringing global automotive markets to Nigeria for ease of access .
This year’s Expectations
I felt highly honoured when the organisers BtoB Events Company invited me to chair the inaugural conference of WAAS last year 2023. So what we did was to centre the conversation around the structure of West Africa Automotive components and parts market. The Conference was well attended and the gains informed the theme for this year conference to which I have again been invited to chair. This year’s theme is Realising Components and parts manufacturing in the region . The objective is to examine factors that will enable and sustain manufacturing activities in the Africa sub region to fill the huge automotive after- markets for parts and the fledgling automotive Assembly plants. So far, We have been lucky to secure the acceptance of speakers from major OEMs, Developments partners such as UNIDO, promoters and regulators including NADDC, SON, Ghana Automotive Development Centre etc. We look forward to a very robust discussion this year as the region position to participate fully in AfCFTA.
