Lagos and the German state of Bavaria have opened bilateral talks on areas of investment between the two states.
A delegation of Bavaria State was in Lagos recently, facilitated by the German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, a part of the global network of German Chambers abroad and an official representation of the German economy that provides advisory support services to German businesses that intend to make a market entry into Nigeria.
Read also: Lagos seals Iyana Iba and Alaba Rago markets
Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, Lagos State commissioner for commerce, cooperatives, trade & investment (MCCTI), who received the delegation in Ikeja, said a key priority of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration was to make the state a 21st-century economy. She said the government intends to achieve this by promoting the ease of doing business, encouraging sustainable practices and adopting an inclusive economy.
“Lagos is a top receiving state of foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic direct investment (DDI) due to its attractiveness. The state also hosts a considerable number of manufacturing concerns with many success stories to share.
One of the success stories is the emergence of fintech unicorns and many other tech start-ups from the state. This is why Lagos, the fifth largest economy in Africa, compares favourably with other business capital of the world”.
The commissioner said the priority of the administration was infrastructure development, and that efforts in direction were already manifesting in the operation of the Blue Line rail and the ongoing construction of the Red Line rail and other projects.
She assured the team that the ministry would relate with sister MDAs particularly agriculture, energy and mineral resources, the environment and drainage services, to promote trade with interested international investors.
Georg Schmidt, leader of the delegation, said the team came from an institution responsible for trade promotion.
Read also: What to know about GAC Lagos car assembly line
“Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, there have been engagements around change in German economic policy with a lot of talk on Africa, but this came with hesitation as many investors who want to come have limited information. This was until the Lagos Metroline Project hit the media waves in Germany”, he noted.
