US-Nigeria summit: Foreign firms indicate interest to invest in Nigeria

A statement by Mike Ofuonye, the publicity secretary of the organizers of the summit and which was obtained by Sunday Sun, quoted the chairman of the planning committee of the summit, Mr. Franklin Ekechukwu as saying that the event which was organized to channel foreign direct investment into Nigeria, have already started yielding fruits.

“The Investment Summit plays a vital role in attracting and facilitating business investment and job creation by raising awareness about the wide range of opportunities and enabling vital direct connections between investors and the Nigeria economy”.

The summit themed, “Nigeria: The future of Global Business”, which according to the statement took place recently, focused on “Nigeria, the U.S, investment environment, industry trends, and new opportunities”.Mrs Joyce Halliday, the vice chairperson of the planning committee disclosed that the summit had opened window of opportunities for the nation’s economy as about 200 US based investors had indicated interest in establishing businesses in Nigeria.

This, she said would in turn create jobs and boost the economy. “These businesses have agriculture, manufacturing, ICT, and healthcare as key focus areas”.

 

The statement added that the summit featured prominent industry experts and government officials including the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele; Minister of Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Director General of Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Ms Victoria Akai; Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprise, Mr Alex Oko.

Others were, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel, Dr. (Mrs) Oluwatoyin Akinlade; Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello; Chief Executive Officer of MTN, Mr Karl Toriola and former Deputy Governor of Central Bank Prof. Kingsley Moghalu.

Enugu State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Greg Nnaji, and Special Adviser to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Director-General, Enugu SMEs Centre, Arinze Chilo-Offiah, represented the state at the summit.

The next edition of the summit is slated for 2022.