Key points
- The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) stated that the African Quality Mark certification will boost the competitiveness of local goods across the continent.
- SON Director-General Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke noted that the dual mark reduces technical barriers to trade and removes the burden of multiple certifications for exporters.
- Senior Special Assistant to the President on Export Expansion Aliyu Sheriff linked robust certification systems to unlocking opportunities in the multi-trillion-dollar global halal economy.
- The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture described the dual certification as a passport of trust within the AfCFTA market.
- The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment emphasized that quality certifications for agricultural products are central to the national food security agenda.
Main Story
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has explained that the implementation of the African Quality Mark (ARSO Dual Mark) certification will significantly enhance the market competitiveness of Nigerian products throughout the continent.
Speaking at an Abuja ceremony where certificates were presented to various domestic firms, the Director-General of SON, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke, noted that this regulatory milestone will directly ease market access under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The head of the standards body characterized the endorsement as a functional validation of compliance with unified African benchmarks, which provides trading partners and consumers with verifiable assurances regarding product safety, reliable performance, and overall quality.
As the continent advances the operationalization of the AfCFTA, the adoption of unified regional baselines has become increasingly vital. Dr. Okeke stated that shared standards give industries a synchronized production framework, which effectively lowers technical trade barriers and eliminates the costly burden of chasing separate, repetitive certifications across different African territories.
Consequently, certified companies are no longer confined to the domestic space but can freely enter the wider African marketplace. To sustain this growth, the organization is ramping up its support for local producers through standards formulation, laboratory testing, factory inspections, and proactive market surveillance, alongside targeted awareness campaigns to ensure export readiness.
The presidency also highlighted the strategic economic weight of strict standardization. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Export Expansion, Aliyu Sheriff, affirmed that robust quality benchmarks form the absolute foundation for industrial expansion, outbound trade growth, and consumer confidence.
Sheriff specifically noted that the federal plan to scale up Nigeria’s halal economy: encompassing food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and logistics relies heavily on strict compliance tracking and international certification systems to penetrate the multi-trillion-dollar global market. Business owners were therefore encouraged to view regulatory conformity as a core investment tool rather than a mere administrative hurdle.
Adding to this perspective, former APC National Chairman Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje described quality control as an indispensable ingredient for national advancement, warning that while the country possesses immense human and material volume, an equal emphasis must be placed on excellence across all sectors. Echoing these observations, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) characterized the dual certification initiative as a landmark victory for regional commerce.
Represented by Dr. Ola Michael, the NACCIMA presidency described the mark as a passport of trust that will allow local businesses to fully maximize the historic AfCFTA market, which spans over 1.3 billion consumers and a combined GDP exceeding 3.4 trillion dollars. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment pointed out that the dual certification framework will reinforce the national food security agenda by ensuring agricultural value chains deliver safe, highly nutritious, and reliable food options.
The Issues
- Minimizing technical barriers to trade by substituting individual national certifications with a singular, harmonized continental framework.
- Leveraging rigid standardization frameworks to unlock multi-trillion-dollar opportunities within the global halal economy.
- Upgrading domestic agricultural value chains to satisfy international safety metrics and support broader national food security targets.
What’s Being Said
- Outlining the institutional mandate of the agency and how the dual mark project functions as a practical indicator of regional compliance, Dr Ifeanyi Okeke stated: ”The initiative aligns with SON’s mandate of standardisation, quality assurance, certification and consumer protection. The African Quality Mark represents a practical demonstration of compliance with harmonised African standards. It assures consumers and trading partners that products meet agreed requirements for safety, quality, reliability and performance across the continent,”
- Reminding local manufacturing operations that their target market has officially expanded beyond domestic borders, Okeke noted: ”The companies receiving these certifications today are no longer limited to the Nigerian market; they now have access to the wider African market.”
- Explaining how strict adherence to transparency and verification codes underpins expansion into high-value global specialized markets, Aliyu Sheriff said: ”The global halal market valued in trillions of dollars, is built on integrity, traceability, quality assurance and compliance with standards. Whether in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or logistics, certification systems are essential for unlocking opportunities in the global halal economy,”
- Advocating for a cultural shift toward excellence to complement the nation’s massive population and resource capacity, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje remarked: ”The issue of quality is very important. We have quantity, but there must also be quality. This forum is important because it encourages excellence in whatever we are doing,”
- Stressing that regional free trade treaties will only generate economic wealth if the country exports superior, value-added goods, Dr Jani Ibrahim stated: ”However, Nigeria will only benefit fully from this historic agreement if we export high-quality, value-added and competitive products,”
What’s Next
- SON will intensify its educational campaigns and market surveillance to onboard more domestic manufacturers onto the harmonized African standards framework.
- Exporters will begin leveraging the ARSO Dual Mark to bypass multiple testing and certification protocols when shipping goods to AfCFTA states.
- The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment will work alongside standardization teams to apply these rigorous quality controls to agricultural products to safeguard food supply systems.
Bottom Line SON has presented the African Quality Mark certification to local firms, with regulatory and trade leaders noting the dual mark eliminates repetitive cross-border certifications, unlocks access to the 3.4 trillion-dollar AfCFTA arena, and lays the groundwork for entry into the global halal economy.
 has explained that the implementation of the African Quality Mark ...){kind=link}