Edun meets Ogunlesi, OpenAI’s new board member at Davos

Wale Edun, Nigeria’s minister of Finance and coordinating minister of Economy met Adebayo Ogunlesi, a Nigerian-born private equity guru and the latest board member of OpenAI at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Ogunlesi, who has had a distinguished career in business leadership and investment, was appointed to OpenAI’s board just days before the prestigious gathering, sparking widespread interest in how his expertise would guide the future of AI.

In an interview in Davos, the minister argued that the federal government will now prioritise maximising its existing assets to generate the necessary funding.

Besides, he argued that Nigeria does not have a balance of payments problem and therefore will not need the short-term financing intervention by the international bank.

“…Where we are now is that having utilised multilateral financing, concessional financing as much as possible, now we need to optimise our assets,” the minister said. “We need to use equity. We need to rely on crowding in the savings, particularly of the private sector in Nigeria and the private sector around the world in the form of foreign direct investment. We have to remember that at this time, we have had significant gains in terms of improving the economic environment.”

Justifying the need to go this route, Edun said the government had also tapped into Nigerian savings through the issuance of a domestic bond by presenting the president’s macroeconomic plan and outlining the potential for economic growth, business prosperity, and an improved business environment.

Regarding IMF financing, the minister explained that it is typically used to address short-term balance of payments issues and crises.

However, in Nigeria’s case, they highlighted a positive trade balance, a positive current account balance, and a growing reserve position, with the Central Bank Governor recently announcing an increase of over $10 billion in reserves.

Edun admitted that food inflation and the cost of living remain high.

He explained that while the Central Bank, through monetary policy tools like interest rates, plays a crucial role in controlling inflation, it’s not solely a monetary issue.

He emphasised the need to boost supply to effectively combat inflation, stating that simply restricting demand is insufficient to lower prices.

“It’s also a question of increasing supply. During this dry season harvest, with concerted efforts to provide the smallholders in particular with the various inputs, herbicides, fertiliser, seeds, we are having a good harvest, but more needs to be done there,” he said.

The minister of finance, pointed out that the government was committed to increasing food production, which would lead to lower food prices and greater food availability and affordability for Nigerians.

This commitment, he argued, was a key aspect of the government’s plan to grow the overall economy.

He further argued that Nigeria was gradually overcoming its economic challenges.

He stressed that the economy this year was significantly different from the previous year, as the necessary reforms had been largely implemented and were now starting to produce positive results.

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“The economy is growing again. The foreign reserves are building up. The debt servicing as a percentage of revenue is down, and likewise, also the deficit, debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is going down. So, we’re in a better place in terms of the investment environment,” he added.

The minister noted that the Nigerian delegation, led by the Vice President, had engaged in productive discussions with various businesses at Davos.

These conversations, he said, had yielded promising results, with businesses in sectors such as financial payments, fast-moving consumer goods, and major international companies expressing strong interest in investing billions of dollars in Nigeria.

He further emphasised that these businesses had indicated their readiness to invest, citing the improved foreign exchange regime and investment climate as key factors.

He also highlighted the numerous bilateral meetings scheduled with other potential investors, expressing optimism about their contributions to job creation, economic growth, and poverty reduction in Nigeria.

He also noted widespread admiration and commendation for President Tinubu’s leadership in removing costly and wasteful fuel subsidies.

He assured that the President remained committed to improving the Nigerian economy and that this decisive action had paved the way for increased investor confidence and a surge of investment into the country.

“In the oil and gas sector, once again, Nigeria is attracting the most investment within the context of Africa. It had fallen behind before. It is now back to the fore. And I think the same thing is happening in other areas of the Nigerian economy. All 19 major sub-sectors are growing. They are improving.

And it is critical to emphasise that investors are lined up and ready to come in, not just foreign direct investors, but even Nigerian investors. And so I think the outlook is for a continued improved environment for investment that will increase the productivity and competitiveness of the Nigerian economy. It will grow the economy, create jobs and reduce poverty,” he said.

“And talking of reducing poverty, there is equal determination to maintain the social safety net and improve upon the delivery of help, particularly to the poor and the most vulnerable in the form of direct benefit transfers and other interventions that help to ease the cost of living. So the future is bright. The outlook is very positive.”