A new report by Rome Business School Nigeria (RBSN) has projected that fixing the nation’s weak and fragmented supply chains holds great potential for Nigeria’s economic growth, food security and industrial output, and by implication could add between 2% and 3% to the annual GDP growth
The report, which was released in January 2026, described Supply Chain Management (SCM) as the unseen system that keeps the country running, connecting farms to markets, factories to ports, hospitals to suppliers and consumers to essential goods.
According to the report, addressing persistent inefficiencies in Nigeria’s supply chains will help in easing inflationary pressure and creating jobs across key sectors of the economy.
The RBSN clarified: “Supply chains are the backbone of modern economies. For Nigeria, strengthening them means better access to food, medicines and jobs, stronger industries and a reduced dependence on oil. When supply chains fail, ordinary people feel it immediately; when they work, growth becomes inclusive and sustainable.”
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The report traced Nigeria’s supply chain journey from the colonial era, when economic activity was largely limited to exporting raw materials such as cocoa, palm oil and minerals, to the oil-driven expansion of the 1970s that reshaped trade and logistics around petroleum.
The publishers noted that while oil and gas still generate about 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, these same supply chains remained highly vulnerable to theft, vandalism and bureaucratic delays, costing the country billions of naira each year.
In addition, BRSN reported that beyond oil, Nigeria exported more than $1.5 billion worth of cocoa and sesame annually, yet much of the value was lost due to poor logistics, limited local processing and weak integration between farmers, processors and exporters; and denying the country from fully benefiting from its vast agricultural potential.
According to the report, infrastructure remains one of the most serious obstacles as only a small portion of Nigeria’s 195,000 kilometres of roads are paved, driving up transport costs by as much as 40 per cent and pushing final consumer prices up by nearly 30 per cent.
It added that congested ports, unreliable power supply and poor cold storage facilities had resulted in massive post-harvest losses, with up to 40 per cent of perishable crops spoiling before reaching the market.
Similarly, the BRSN identified security challenges as further complicating the movement of goods as banditry in the North and vandalism in the Niger Delta frequently disrupted supply routes, endangering drivers and logistics workers while increasing the cost of doing business.
The report also referred to the 2023 removal of fuel subsidies as a major shock in the economy, noting that the resulting spike in transport and logistics costs has strained the supply of essential goods and contributed to higher prices for consumers.
The publishers reported that while the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many businesses to adopt digital tools such as e-procurement and online inventory systems, Nigeria continued to struggle to keep pace with advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain as high implementation costs, poor broadband coverage and a shortage of skilled professionals have limited adoption, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises.
The RBSN maintained that the consequences were felt most sharply in agriculture and healthcare just as smallholder farmers, who produce the majority of Nigeria’s food, often lose significant portions of their harvest because poor roads and storage prevent timely access to processors and markets.
In the health sector, the report highlighted that inconsistent supply chains had led to frequent shortages of essential medicines, including malaria drugs, particularly in northern parts of the country while weak cold-chain systems and power outages meant that vaccines and other temperature-sensitive products are regularly damaged before reaching patients.
Despite these challenges, the report painted a bright outlook for the nation’s economy and identified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a major opportunity and projecting that intra-African trade could grow by more than 20 per cent if countries improve cooperation on logistics, customs processes and infrastructure.
Similarly, it also pointed to emerging trends such as city-based warehousing, electric delivery vehicles and greener logistics models as ways to cut costs, reduce emissions and support the rapid growth of e-commerce.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Dean and Founder of the RBSN, Prof. Antonio Ragusa, said Nigeria currently remained at crossroads, where targeted reforms and investments could turn long-standing weaknesses into competitive advantages.
He explained: “Nigeria has the resources, the market and the talent. What is needed now is coordinated action to modernise infrastructure, embrace technology and build resilient supply chains that work for businesses and citizens alike.”
The RBSN concluded that strengthening supply chain management remained not just a business imperative but a national development priority, adding that with the right policies, private investment and regional collaboration, Nigeria can unlock new growth, improve food and health security and build a more resilient economy for the future.
