Merit Ibe
Next Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari will lead Nigerian delegation to the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit in London.
The Summit is expected to bring together British and African businesses to harness the huge potential of the continent when it comes to trade, including through infrastructure, agriculture, enterprise and technology. It will create new lasting partnerships to deliver more investment, jobs and growth to benefit people and businesses across Africa and the UK.
A statement from the organiser says the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will meet with President Buhari, who will also attend a reception hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
In advance of the Summit, the UK Government through the Department for International Development worked with the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) to develop a new Nigeria Investment Guide, which will be launched at the Summit. The guide will help investors understand the opportunities and find out about the organisations, processes and services in place to help make the most of them.
The statement explains that the Summit is a great opportunity to highlight and discuss trade and investment relations for both the UK and Nigeria. Other African countries will also be looking to promote their investment offers.
Nigeria will play a critical role in the success of the Summit as President Buhari is set to head the Nigerian delegation and receive special treatment, befitting his status as President of Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy.
At the Summit, the Nigerian delegation will have the chance to engage investors on business, environment issues and to emphasise Nigeria’s commitment to continuing to improve conditions for doing business, as recognised in its steady climb up the World Bank’s Doing Business index from 146th to 131st in last October’s report.
Commenting on the Summit, Harriet Thompson, British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos said “the UK-Africa Investment Summit is a major opportunity to support growth, development and job creation in Nigeria, including President Buhari’s commitment to expanding agriculture and manufacturing. Nigeria will be highly visible: the only country to participate in every AIS event, and Nigeria’s companies will be out in force: one in seven of the African companies attending will be Nigerian. Every session of the Summit will feature Nigerian participants. We want them to come back with new partnerships that will boost investment and create jobs and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria
“This is a prime opportunity for Nigeria to make its pitch to quality British companies and investors, demonstrating not only the scale and breadth of commercial opportunities here in Nigeria, but also government’s commitment to improving the business environment. Global competition for investment is fierce. Nigeria will need to compete for its share, addressing those areas that businesses still find a challenge, such as customs and tax procedures.”