The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is set to launch a West Africa-focused trade and investment hub in Nigeria in order to spur trade and economic growth in the region.
This was disclosed by Claire Pierangelo, consul general of the US consulate, at the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) annual dinner dance held recently in Lagos.
Speaking on the objective of the hub, she said the move was to further improve trade activities in Nigeria and grow investment into the African economy.
“USAID Trade Hubs work on the ground to reduce the cost and risk of doing business in Africa, levelling the playing field and cutting through red tape to make investment and trade freer and fairer for everyone,” Pierangelo said.
She further said that the USAID was engaging with partners across sub-Saharan Africa to deepen regional economic integration and attract investment that drives commercial expansion within the region and to global markets.
She stressed that the hub would be located in Abuja, Nigeria and will begin operations in the coming year.
Commending the NACC, she said the chamber had played key roles in fostering and maintaining trade relationships between the United States and Nigeria, and this has further strengthened the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
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In his address of welcome, Oluwatoyin Akomolafe, national president, NACC, said the chamber had been deliberately consistent in improving economic and trade activities in both countries in order to foster prosperity and spur growth.
On the activities of the chamber, he said, “Here at the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, we have challenged ourselves to improve trade relations between Nigeria and the USA. As promised, we have consistently mobilised to push the governments of both nations to create better trade deals and enabling environments in order to reduce our dependency on oil as well as our increasing engagements across other trade and investments,” Akomolafe said.
He further stated that NACC would consistently make moves to become a key institution for trade and investment partnering with leaders and leading institutions that would guarantee a more economical and developed future for the country.
He said in 2020, the chamber would mark its 60th anniversary in existence.
In his remarks, chairman of the occasion, Abdulsamad Rabiu, executive chairman of BUA Group, commended the chamber for its activities during the year, urging the leadership to intensify efforts in contributing to economic growth.
The chamber, at its dinner, inducted 24 new members comprising companies across different sectors, including construction, consulting, technology, agriculture, stock broking and law.
