From Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, has assured Nigeria would be ranked among the first 100 countries of the world in the area of ease of doing business by 2023,.
Delivering a keynote address at the virtual Nigeria-Britain Trade and Investment Expo with the theme: “Unlocking the Future of Anglo-Nigerian Trade” on Thursday, the Minister noted that there is a correlation between ease of doing business and economic prosperity of a country.
The consistent efforts of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) in collaborating with the relevant private and public sector institutions has resulted in the steady improvement in Nigeria’s position in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking.
“Nigeria has recorded improvements in its business environment especially in the last 5 years, based on the World Bank’s assessment through its Doing Business Index. Nigeria’s ranking stood at 131 of 170 countries in 2020, up from 170 of 189 countries in 2016. We have also recorded improvements in the World Bank’s Sub-National Doing Business assessment.”
Speaking on efforts to attract investors to the country, he disclosed that Nigeria has revised its bilateral investment treaty (BIT) model with the provision for investment facilitation inserted to institutionalise the principle of supporting investors to actualise their investments.
“This model is a ‘new generation’ BIT which highlights the economic development objectives of the government, and balances investors’ rights with obligations in a bid to ensure that Nigeria attracts Responsible, Inclusive, Balanced and Sustainable (RIBS) investments,”he said.
Adebayo said Nigeria is also one of 14 African countries to develop an online investment guide: “iGuide Nigeria”, to help investors make better-informed decisions about investing in Nigeria.
According to him, the iGuide Nigeria is an easy-to-use online platform which provides investors with up-to-date and pertinent information on the processes, procedures and basic costs of setting up and doing business in Nigeria.