Mofid Karameh arrived in Nigeria from Syria in the early 1990s and he has since gone on to build Mikano Group into a diversified industrial conglomerate with interests spanning power, automobiles, medical products, food processing, steel fabrication and marine equipment.
The journey however did not start out big, Karameh started by repairing and servicing generators, an experience that gave him an early understanding of the country’s persistent demand for reliable power.
Between 1991 and 1993, he established Mikano as an importer and service company focused on generators and power equipment. Rather than remain dependent on imported finished products, however, Karameh moved towards local assembly.
By 1995, Mikano had begun assembling generators locally, making the company one of the early Nigerian businesses to move beyond importing complete generator units into domestic production and assembly.
From Generators to Diversified Industrial Empire
Under Karameh’s leadership, Mikano developed six major business divisions: power, vehicles, medical products, food, construction and steel, and marine building manufacturing capacity around sectors with strong demand in Nigeria and across the wider African market.
The power business remains central to the group, building on the generator business that established Mikano’s presence in the Nigerian market. The company subsequently moved into vehicle assembly. It also expanded into medical products and food processing, while its construction and steel operations gave the group a presence in industrial fabrication. Its marine division has further broadened the business into the production and assembly of marine vessels and related equipment.
The company owns the Karameh Industrial City in Warewa, Ogun State, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Opened around 2018–2019, the industrial complex occupies about 75,000 square metres and houses eight large warehouses dedicated to different manufacturing and assembly operations. The facility supports vehicle, generator and marine assembly, as well as medical and food production.
Karameh’s preference for building locally has positioned Mikano as more than an equipment distributor. The group has increasingly focused on assembling and manufacturing products locally, while creating an integrated industrial platform around its various businesses.
Karameh is now a Nigerian citizen, having made Nigeria the base of his business and industrial activities marking a long journey from arriving with a toolbox in the early 1990s to building a sustainable manufacturing business.
