In a bid to address mounting pressures on Nigeria’s printing industry, ranging from steep production costs to ageing machinery and increasing foreign patronage, the Printing, Publishing and Allied Group (PPA) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) will on Wednesday, November 5, host a high-level stakeholders’ seminar themed “Nigeria’s Printing Industry: Unlocking Opportunities, Overcoming Challenges.”

The event will be held at the Henry Fajemirokun Hall, Commerce House, Victoria Island, Lagos. The forum is expected to bring together printers, policymakers, financiers, academics, and regulators to explore policy reforms, local capacity expansion and new financing models capable of stabilising the value chain.

The programme will also feature presentations on the state of the industry, financing bottlenecks, and policy gaps hampering local production.

Chairman of the PPA Group, Gabriel Okonkwo, while speaking ahead of the seminar, decried the growing outsourcing of print jobs to foreign firms, warning that the trend undermines the country’s economy.

“Despite our wealth of talent and equipment, much of Nigeria’s printing demand is outsourced abroad. Every job printed overseas means lost jobs, lost income, and lost opportunities here at home,” he said.

However, Chairman/CEO of Yaliam Press Limited, Yahaya Amfani, will deliver the keynote address, while Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, is billed as Special Guest Speaker.

President of the LCCI, Gabriel Idahosa, and Managing Director of FAE Limited, Bakare Okeowo, are also expected to speak. A panel session titled “Unlocking Nigeria’s Printing and Publishing Potential: Policy Pathways and Financial Solutions” will gather key voices, including the General Manager, Lagos State Printing Corporation, Kolawole Peregrino; Managing Director, Academy Press Plc, Olugbenga Oladipo; Managing Director, AFKAR Printing, Dr Florence Adesola Falaiye; Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Olasupo Olusi; and Managing Director, Sterling Books Nigeria Limited, Folashade Shinkaye. The session will be moderated by the former President of the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON), Oluwagbemi Malomo.

The organisers said the forum would move beyond conversation as outcomes are expected to include a position paper for government engagement, a directory of local printers, and recommendations on policy incentives that could spur domestic investment.

Delegates will also explore strategies to revive dormant paper mills, grow export capacity, and develop financing models, such as equipment leasing and risk-sharing facilities.

The event will host an exhibition of print and publishing innovations, an interactive audience session and an awards ceremony recognising excellence in the sector.

Okonkwo stressed that keeping print jobs within Nigerian borders could save foreign exchange and drive employment.