The President of the Africa Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has commended Singapore for its huge investment in Africa.
Adesina who spoke at a panel discussion at this year virtual edition of the Africa- Singapore Business Forum (ASBF) expressed happiness that Singapore did not stop its investment in Africa despite the COVID-19 pandemic which ravaged the world.
He disclosed that this was evidence in the signing of over 30 deals during the pandemic while 16 had already been signed prior to the forum this year.
According to him this has reinforce his firm belief that Singapore trusts Africa, which he considers as a great thing.
This year’s edition which had OLAM as major sponsors as well PwC and Standard Bank also featured Singapore’s senior minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Its opening session which started on August 23 and rounded off over the weekend also featured speakers, business leaders across the globe and panel sessions which addressed problems and opportunities in vital sectors such as manufacturing, urban planning, digital technology, innovation, and sustainability.
The ASBF is a foremost platform for organizations and business leaders in Africa and Singapore to collaborate and synergize. It has stimulated investment, trade relations and thought leadership between Africa and Asia for over a decade.
An initiative of Enterprise Singapore (established to support trade and development into Singapore), which has united over 30 countries, the business forum has also enabled over 2000 businessmen to venture into new partnerships between the two dynamic regions.
Reports from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicated that Singapore’s investments into Africa have moved from $17 billion to $20 billion.
Speaking on the forum, Mr. Olufemi Hassan, Principal Consultant at Hatytude Consulting and one of the outreach partners for ASBF 2021 said this year’s forum was quite impactful.
According to him, Hatytude Consulting has been partnering with Enterprise Singapore for over a decade to drive strategic collaboration amongst businesses within Singapore and Nigeria.
He noted that Hatytude Consulting is a financial and management consulting firm established in 2003 to help companies expand through various means of collaboration such as trade partnerships, joint ventures and franchises among others
Though its operational base is in Lagos, Hassan maintained that Hatytude has strong passion for driving businesses across the globe leveraging on its network of partners.
He noted that Hatytude Consulting has been working assiduously with the regional director for Enterprise Singapore in West Africa, Mrs. Jean Ng in the last couple of years to sustain stimulation of business engagements between the two regions.
“ASBF is a premier platform for business collaboration and Hatytude Consulting is keen on fostering meaningful trade relationships between both regions. We are committed to facilitating as many collaborative engagements as possible. There are immense opportunities for Nigerian businesses looking to internationalize and we will keep working with the likes of Enterprise Singapore to support growth of businesses between Nigerian businesses and other parts of the world,” he said.