VOICES FROM THE SECTOR: INDUSTRY
What is your contribution to Nigeria?
Other than our significant exploration investment over the last five years, we are also active at various international mining and trading shows in promoting Nigeria's solid mineral wealth. We have also ensured an exploration infrastructure in Nigeria in order to make sure that exploration can be conducted easier than it was four to five years ago.
What is the company's strategy to develop its assets?
We have developed our assets to a point where our next phase will be to drill these assets. We are looking at doing so during 2H2019.
How big is the potential for mining in Nigeria?
Nigeria has amazing solid mineral wealth potential, as already shown by companies like Thor Exploration and Symbol, two publicly traded companies currently developing and mining two different commodities in Nigeria. The list of minerals includes copper porphyries, lithium, graphite, iron ore, and gemstones.
Do you think international companies like Glencore and Rio Tinto are needed to develop Nigeria's mining industry?
I think that they will be interested in Nigeria at a later stage. Junior exploration and mining companies will spark the boom and the big players will follow suit afterwards.
Sona Group recorded a 100% growth rate in 2017. How was 2018?
Sona Group has always adopted a forward-looking approach. The group has always believed in the Nigerian economy and has been continuously planning expansions, investing, and re-investing to further fuel expansions. The group aligns its policies with the government and moves forward even when other players are hesitant, which is why 2018 was been a great year for us.
How does the low-growth consumer purchase power affect demand for your goods?
We continuously look into ways to make sure that we do not lose our customers. Technological upgrades such as bringing in cost-cutting devices and reduction of waste management helps us to reduce cost and waste to an extent. Apart from this, using local raw material helps us further combat such situations.
Can you tell us more about the projects Sona Group is involved in its other lines of business?
Sona Group is a diversified group with a good presence in both foods and non-foods sectors. However, at present, we are concentrating more on the FMCG sector, venturing into
palm oil and palm kernel, soy oil, fats including margarine, shortening, and soaps and detergents.
How have your efforts to expand your client base across numerous sectors progressed?
We have diversified into consumer-type products and have started production on a number of power distribution products, including sockets and switches. However, there is still work to be done in terms of developing the requisite levels of stock before we launch the product and enter the market. We are expanding our efforts from the B2B business model into the B2C model. Nigeria has a large population and sticking to B2B might not be enough to achieve our growth targets. This means covering wider breadth of the market, including the consumer market. We are not leaving our present customers; we are merely expanding our operations.
Can you tell us more about your work on e-houses for oil and gas operators?
We have built similar structures for electrical sub-stations that are housed in larger enclosures. The e-house is different in the sense that it is bigger and its specifications are different. We are working on building enclosures for electrical and mechanical equipment, which is similar to what we have been doing from the beginning. We are getting to the point where customers are realizing what we are capable of and they are requesting these services.
VOICES FROM THE SECTOR: INDUSTRY
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