The grant of Pioneer Status to an investment in Nigeria is aimed at enabling the industry concerned to make a reasonable level of profit within its formative years. The profit so made is expected to be ploughed back into the business.

Pioneer Status is a tax holiday granted to qualified or eligible industries anywhere in the country and a seven-year tax holiday in respect of industries located in economically disadvantaged areas. At the moment, there is a list of 71 approved industries declared pioneer industries, which can benefit from a tax holiday.

To qualify, a joint venture company or a wholly foreign-owned company must have incurred a capital expenditure of not less than ₦5 million (US$33,000) whilst that of a qualifying indigenous company should not be less than ₦150,000 ($991). In addition, an application in respect of Pioneer Status must be submitted within one year the applicant company starts commercial production, otherwise the application will be time-barred.

	INDUSTRIES	PRODUCTS
1	Cultivation, processing and preservation of food crops and fruits	Preserved canned foodstuff and fruits, tea, coffee, refined sugar, tomato puree/juice, etc
2	Integrated dairy production	Butter, cheese, fluid milk, powder milk, ice cream
3	a) Deep sea trawling and processing b) Coastal fishing and shrimping	Preserved sea foods, fish and shrimps, fishmeal
4	Mining lead, zinc, and steel from iron ore	Iron and steel products
5	Manufacturing of steel from iron ore	Iron and steel products
6	The smelting and refining of non-ferrous base metals and the manufacturing of their alloys	Refined non-ferrous base metals and their alloys
7	Mining and processing of barytes, bentonites and associated minerals	Barytes, bentonites and associated minerals
8	Manufacturing of oil well drilling materials containing a predominant proportion of Nigerian raw materials	Barytes, bentonites and associated minerals
9	The manufacturing of cement	Cement, clinker
10	Manufacturing of glass and glassware	Sheet glass and laboratory glasswares
11	Manufacturing of lime from local limestone	Lime
12	Quarrying and processing of marble	Marble and processed marble
13	Manufacturing of ceramic products	Refractory and heat insulating constructional products, laboratory ware
14	Manufacturing of basic and intermediate chemicals	i) Basic and intermediate organic chemicals ii) Basic and intermediate in-organic chemicals iii) Fertiliser iv) Petro-chemicals v) Caustic soda and chlorine vi) Pesticide and insecticide
15	Formulation and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals	Pharmaceuticals, health vitamins
16	Manufacturing of yeast, alcohol and related products	Yeast, industrial alcohol and related products
17	Manufacturing of paper pulp	Paper pulp
18	Manufacturing of yarn and man-made fibres	Yarn and synthetic fibres
19	Manufacturing of machinery involving the local manufacture of substantial proportion of components thereof	Office and industrial machinery, equipment and apparatus
20	Manufacturing of products made wholly or mainly of mental	Pipes and tubes structure metal products
21	Manufacturing of nets from local raw materials	Fishing nets, mosquito nets and related products
22	Manufacture of gas cylinders	Gas cylinders
23	The processing of local wheat flour materials	Flour and Offal
24	Rubber plantation and processing	Rubber
25	Gum Arabic plantation and processing	Gum Arabic
26	Manufacturing of fertilisers Ammonia, Urea	Superphosphate and nitrogenous fertilisers
27	Vehicle manufacturing	Motor vehicles and motorcycles, tricycles and automotive components
28	Oil palm plantation and processing	Palm oil
29	Manufacture of automotive and other components	Automotive and other components.
30	Book printing	Books
31	Large scale mechanised farming	Wheat, maize, rice and sorghum
32	Cattle ranching and piggery of not less than 500 herds	Cattle and pigs of not less than 500 herds
33	Mining of gypsum	Gypsum
34	Re-refining or recycling of waste oil	Low power oil
35	Manufacturing of electrical appliances/equipment/components and parts	Generators, transformers, meter, control, pressing irons, switch gears, test equipment, ballets/starters/lighters, discreet components, resistor/capacitors/coils/semi-conductors/conductors
36	Ship building, repairs and maintenance of ocean going vessels	Ships, boats and barges
37	Manufacturing of computer and computer chips	Computer hardware and software
38	Manufacture of cameras, photographic equipment and other materials	Cameras, photographic equipment or any components thereof
39	Diving and underwater engineers	Underwater engineering services
40	Local fabrications of machinery, equipment	Machinery
41	Manufacturing of tools	Machines and hand tools
42	Installation of facilities for aircraft manufacturing and maintenance of aircraft	Aircraft maintenance and manufacturing
43	Installation of scientific instruments and communication equipment	Scientific instruments, radio, audio play-back/recorders, loudspeaker units, amplifying systems, microphones, video playbacks/recorders, PBX, telephone handset, tele-printers, trans-receivers, autophones/aerials
45	Manufacture of gas and distribution	Gas and gas distribution
46	Manufacturing of solar energy powered equipment and gadgets	Solar panels, refrigerators, water pumps, calculators, etc
47	Large-scale inland fishing farms	Fish and shrimps
48	Bitumen mining and processing	Bitumen
49	Salt production	Salt
50	Manufacturing of fire fighting equipment and detection systems	Fire fighting equipment and detection systems
51	Manufacturing of cables	Electrical, telephone and other cables
52	Manufacturing of medical equipment	X-ray, oxygen equipment, etc
53	Mineral oil prospecting and production	Petroleum
54	Manufacturing of lubricants	Grease, hydraulic/engine oil, gear oil, etc
56	Manufacturing of flat sheets	Flat sheets
57	Manufacturing of ovens, cookers, cold rooms, refrigerators, fridges, freezers, air conditioners	Ovens, cookers, cold rooms, refrigerators, fridges, freezers, air conditioners
58	Manufacturing of agricultural machinery and equipment	Ploughs, harvesters, threshers, planters, etc
59	Manufacturing of materials handling and equipment	Cranes, forklifts, etc
60	Establishment of foundries	Moulds, casting, etc
61	Manufacturing of alum	Alum
62	Manufacturing of enzymes	Enzymes
63	Manufacturing of concentrates	Food/fruits concentrates
64	Manufacturing of welding electrodes	Welding electrodes
65	Manufacturing of nails	Nails, related items
66	Manufacturing of iron rods	Rods from billets
67	Manufacturing of hops	Brewing hops
68	Information and communication technology (ICT)	Manufacture/production of ICT equipment, hardware and software
69	Tourism	Development of holiday resorts, hotels, sporting and recreational facilities
70	Real Estate Development	i) Rental income from residential and commercial premises ii) Capital gains from any real estate disposed of within a specified period
71	Utility services	i) Independent power generation utilising gas, coal and renewable energy sources ii) All aspects of transportation such as rail, road and waterways iii) Indigenous telecommunications companies other than GSM operations

Source: Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission