The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has launched a Digital Standards Platform (DSP) offering selected internationally recognised standards at discounts of up to 35 per cent, in a move aimed at reducing compliance costs, improving product quality and helping Nigerian manufacturers compete more effectively in regional and global markets.
Unveiled in Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of action, the platform gives manufacturers, researchers, public institutions and businesses digital access to Nigerian Industrial Standards, conformity assessment services, certified products and verified manufacturers through a single online portal.
Director-general of SON, Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, said the platform marks a major shift in the agency’s approach to regulation, arguing that standards administration must evolve with industry.
“For over five decades we have pursued this mandate faithfully. But the world has changed, and an institution that regulates industry must never lag behind the industries it regulates,” Okeke said.
He said the platform was conceived after the agency examined the challenges businesses face in accessing standards and compliance services.
“We asked ourselves a hard question: if a young entrepreneur in Aba, Kano or Onitsha wishes to know the standard her product must meet, how long should it take her to find out? The honest answer, until today, was: too long. The Digital Standards Platform is our answer to that question.
“From today, Nigerian Industrial Standards, compliance tools, conformity assessment services and standards-related resources are available digitally, searchable, accessible and verifiable, without the barriers of distance, queues or paperwork,” he added.
According to Okeke, the DSP serves as a single digital gateway to Nigeria’s quality infrastructure, providing access to the catalogue of Nigerian Industrial Standards while enabling users to verify certified products and manufacturers through dedicated online directories.
A key feature of the platform is discounted access to selected internationally recognised standards through SON’s subscription and copyright licensing agreements with international standards organisations.
“By making international standards more affordable and readily accessible, SON is equipping Nigerian industries, researchers, professionals and public institutions with the tools they need to improve quality, drive innovation and compete more effectively in regional and international markets,” he said.
The platform also includes searchable directories of SON-certified products and manufacturers, enabling consumers, investors, businesses and government agencies to verify certification status before making purchasing or procurement decisions.
Okeke said the feature would strengthen consumer confidence, improve market transparency and help curb the circulation of counterfeit, unsafe and substandard products.
He added that the platform would particularly benefit micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by lowering the cost and complexity of compliance, making it easier for them to obtain certification and compete in domestic and export markets.
“A standard that is easy to access is a standard that is easy to meet; and a product that meets our standards at home is a product ready for the continental and global marketplace,” he said.
Describing the initiative as SON’s contribution to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria First policy, Okeke said improving the quality of locally made goods is essential if Nigerians are to prioritise buying them.
“If Nigeria must buy Nigerian first, then Nigerian products must be worthy of being bought first and demonstrably so. Standards are how a nation keeps that promise to itself,” he said.
Outlining the agency’s long-term vision, Okeke said SON wants every Nigerian manufacturer, entrepreneur, researcher, procurement professional and public institution to have affordable access to both Nigerian and internationally recognised standards through a single trusted platform.
“Our vision is that every Nigerian manufacturer, entrepreneur, researcher, procurement professional and public institution should have affordable access to both Nigerian and internationally recognised standards through one trusted national platform.
“By making standards easier to obtain and more affordable, we are reducing barriers to compliance, supporting innovation, strengthening the Nigeria First Policy and positioning Nigerian businesses to compete confidently in regional and global markets,” he said.
Pledging continued investment in the platform, Okeke added, “The Platform belongs not to SON alone, but to every Nigerian who believes that quality is the shortest route to prosperity.”
