Robust local content vital for industrial growth – Expert
Mr Solomon Ewanehi, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Solewant Group, has urged African countries to anchor their energy strategies on strong local content frameworks.
Speaking at the 2026 Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) 2026 on Thursday in Lagos, Ewanehi said this remained critical to energy security, industrialisation and long-term economic sovereignty.
He said no nation could advance beyond the technical competence, systems and industrial capacity of its own people.
“A country’s development is inseparable from the skills and systems it builds domestically,” Awanehi said.
According to him, local capacity should not be treated as a peripheral economic policy but as the very foundation of nation-building.
Ewanehi urged policymakers and industry leaders to move beyond viewing local content as mere compliance quotas or workforce training initiatives.
According to him, it should be structured as a comprehensive industrial ecosystem that deliberately aligns technology, financing, governance and infrastructure.
“When these pillars are integrated, local content stops being a regulatory obligation and becomes a catalyst for economic transformation,” Ewanehi noted.
He maintained that empowering indigenous firms would boost productivity, improve safety standards in project delivery and reduce capital flight driven by overdependence on imported expertise and equipment.
Ewanehi said structural constraints still hinder meaningful growth, citing progress in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Namibia in developing local participation frameworks,
According to him, limited access to capital for indigenous companies and opaque procurement systems remain major obstacles to innovation and competitiveness.
“These barriers must be dismantled if Africa is serious about industrial competitiveness,” he said.
The CEO cited Solewant Group’s growth trajectory as evidence that African firms can scale and lead within the energy value chain.
Ewanehi said the company, which started with a single facility in 2016, had expanded into a 56,000-square-metre industrial park.
He said the recent inauguration of a fully automated pipe-coating plant by the company and its expansion into Namibia demonstrated its growing industrial footprint.
Ewanehi emphasised that these were practical examples of indigenous capacity in action, adding, “African firms are capable not only of participating in the energy value chain but of driving it”.
He identified the Solewant Energy Training Institute (SETI) as central to the company’s long-term vision, describing it as a pipeline for developing the technical skills required to sustain Africa’s industrial ambitions.
The CEO stressed, “Africa cannot build its future by permanently importing expertise.
“Our industrial destiny must rest on the competence of our own workforce and the strength of our supply chains.”
Ewanehi expressed commitment to deepen collaboration at the Africa Energy Summit scheduled for November, where stakeholders are expected to focus on scaling innovation and strengthening indigenous capacity.
According to him, for Africa to secure its energy future and achieve industrial independence, local content must evolve from aspiration to architecture, embedded firmly in policy, practice and production.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
