Toyin Sanni, founder/executive vice chair of Emerging Africa Group, has said Nigeria remains an attractive and viable investment destination for investors.
She said at the Nigeria Forum 2023 organised by the Sixteenth Council (Brian Reuben Policy Group, United Kingdom), that risks exist in investing in the Nigerian market but they are also compensated by very significant returns.
“Foreign direct investors in the past used to yield significant returns from the market in Nigeria,” she said, adding that investors need to have the patience to wait for investments to mature.
She stated that over the years, Nigeria, as an investment destination, has created significant value for investors over time for both domestic and international investors.
“There is an opportunity for Nigeria’s economy to recover and with the policies by the new administration, we are looking forward to the tight reforms by the government, more market-friendly policies, more transparency coming out of the policies,” Sanni said.
She urged investors to invest in Nigeria because the country gives an opportunity for superior returns which has been demonstrated in the past.
“Nigeria has a young, dynamic and creative population which suggests growth of the future with the way young Nigerians are embracing digital technology,” Sanni said.
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Speaking about access to the market, she said Nigeria remained rich in human resources. “Nigeria is a reforming economy and as long as the pace of reform is sustained then over time we will reap the benefit.”
Brian Reuben, chairman of the Sixteenth Council, while speaking about Nigeria’s 63rd independence, said Nigeria is filled with potential but Nigeria has not done so well.
“We have many people displaced, security concerns and massive unemployment which are indicators of problems and also opportunities,” he said.
He urged every Nigerian to put bitterness aside and rise to the core of building a great Nigeria.
“Nigeria reforms being implemented and some of the timing I could disagree with but the reforms are here and we can see the consequences of this perhaps those who initiated the reforms have the best interest of Nigeria at heart,” Reuben said.
He, however, stated that reforms are important but every reform needs two important things which are timing and approach. “I hope these reforms can have necessary adjustments because there is a lot of potential in Nigeria which has to be unleashed.”
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Anthony Idigbe, senior partner, PUNUKA Attorneys & Solicitors, said Nigeria at 63 is no longer a baby nation. “We have gone through civil war, military rule and we have tried nation-building in so many ways however we should claim to mature politically and economically.
“Politically, there are challenges apart from internal challenges which is regional building. Nigerian businesses are going regional but there is a need to break colonial leakages and language barriers. If we work on implementing that agreement then Nigeria will be the major beneficiary,” he said.
MKO Balogun, CEO of Global PFI Group, Nigeria while speaking on how important diversification is for investors in Nigeria, said in each part of the country, Nigeria should discover the opportunities for sub-national investment to drive the country.
“Sub-sectors are begging for investment, and if we position ourselves, we can attract these investors,” Balogun said.
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