EU partners Nigeria on investments, development

By Derrick Bangura

The European Union (EU) Commission on Tuesday, stated it would continue to work with Nigeria on business prospects, investments, and other development projects.

Ms. Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of the European Union (EU), made the assurance during a visit to Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, in Abuja.

Vestager, who was in Nigeria for a five-day working visit, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to expanding collaboration with Nigeria in agri-food, energy, and infrastructure.

“I have faith in agriculture because it has the ability to create access to trade routes that would otherwise be difficult,” Vestager added.

She stated that the EU was willing to undertake high-level conversations with Nigerian authorities in order to learn about specific goals that would benefit citizens.

“We are willing to undertake high-level conversations with Nigerian officials to learn about specific areas of priority, particularly as they relate to the country’s industrialization.” We want to strengthen discussions in the next days that will lead to the signing of investment agreements with Nigeria that will enable industrialization.

“There is a lot of discussion in Europe about governments producing in regions where they believe they have friends or neighbors, and the consensus is that Nigeria qualifies because of its scope of investments and ease of doing business,” Vestager said.

The EU Vice President has entrusted Nigerian authorities with strengthening the country’s competition framework in order to encourage businesses to offer consumers the best deals on goods and services, while also ensuring efficiency, innovation, and lower pricing.

During the discussion, Adebayo stated that his ministry’s primary focus is on the industrialization program, with the overarching goal of fostering job-intensive growth in the Nigerian economy through industrialization.

“Within our Backward Integration Program (BIP), there are potential for investments in these commodities to expand production for local consumption and exports,” he said.

With a view to positioning Nigeria as a supply chain partner to leading global economies, Adebayo said Nigeria was ready to participate effectively in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – on the Rules of Origin, Technical Barriers to Trade Monitoring Capability, and Establishment of Trade remedy Mechanism.

Nigeria’s growing mobile penetration rate, as well as a targeted legislative push to improve broadband penetration and financial inclusion, according to Adebayo, are combining to create the ideal conditions for a booming fintech sector and the acceptance of digital solutions to tackle everyday problems.

Ambassador Mariam Yelwaji Katagum, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investments, listed multiple taxations, high-interest rates, insufficient working capital, and stiff competition from larger companies as some of the challenges confronting small businesses, but said the federal government was dealing with the challenges through business reforms overseen by the Presidential Enabling.

Multilateral and private sector financing of Special Economic Zones through public-private partnerships and greenfield development, according to Katagum, were areas of collaboration.

“Support for women-owned businesses is a significant area of collaboration. In this sense, I’d like to know what the EU is doing. Credit facilitation for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) finance schemes, as well as market access for exports, are among the others.

“We will also require assistance in initiating dialogues and matching significant investors with investment possibilities, as well as assistance in delivering Best-Practice assessment and management/navigation of key business legislative reforms and Ease of Doing Business Reforms,” he stated.