Recently, Africa Investments, organisers of African round trips across different countries in Africa, chooses Nigeria as one of it’s locations for investment during the 2018 edition of the event.

From Left: Robyn Scott – Principal Of African Investments, Abimbola Olufore – CEO Wycliffe Energy, Oladeji Olawale – M.D Naphtali Ltd, Wofai Samuel – Keynote Speaker for African Investments in Nigeria, Sam Aiboni – Partner Victoria Chambers, Leesi Gborogbosi – CEO Gabriel Domale Consulting, Olajumoke Ajayi – M.D Asharami Energy Ltd, Lanre Oloniniyi – Founder , Orbitt.

The event began with a welcome remark by Robyn Scott, Principal, African Investments and a keynote address, which was taken by international media personality & pundit , Wofai Samuel.

Her keynote address was on the topic; ‘Why Invest in Nigeria.

The immediate past recession period when the fundamentals of the economy are at the early stages of recovery is the best time to invest in a country like Nigeria , she said, adding that , in the first quarter of 2018, the investment inflow into Nigeria rose to $6.3bn, which is an increase of 17.1% over the 5.38bn recorded in 2017.

She highlighted competitve advantages to include:

Nigeria’s labor cost, which  is one of the most competitive in the world, with  a young and dynamic population.

An extensive  network of transport routes that links the country to neighboring countries.

Abundant land and water resources , 54 airports, 5 ports and functional railways.

She stated that The Nigerian Government has realized  the need to make the country as attractive and lucrative as possible for offshore investors to bring their capital, skills and business trade forward.

In the area of manufacturing, Wofai stated that Nigeria’s population is an estimated 190.9  million people thus a ready available market for production and consumption of goods and services.

In information communication technology, Wofai stated that Nigeria as a country has one of the fastest growing internet users in Africa as evident in the figures of 98.3 million in November 2017.

By tapping into the under developed skills of the Nigerian youth, there are countless opportunities for new  economy companies to develop technology leaders of the future in Nigeria and the rest of west Africa.

In Agriculture, Nigeria has over 84 million of  arable land of which only 40% is cultivated.

The country has some of the richest natural resources for agricultural  production in the world.

Nigeria is the world’s largest producers of cassava and the fourth largest producer of groundnut , cocoa,

In Health care, it is estimated that 30,000 Nigerians spend $1billion annually on medical tourism.

The health care market is large and diverse, thus investment could be be done either in primary, secondary or tertiary health care.

Nigeria being the most populous nation in Africa, has a large number of cases of widespread communication diseases.

Nigerians self generate a significant portion of electricity at a cost greater than twice the cost of of grid opportunities, thus a myriad of Investments openings in the power and energy market.

Other Speakers present were;

Jide Jadesumi – Executive Director Business  LADOL,

Michael Oluwabemi – Executive Partner LoftyInc Capital Management,

Habeeb Gbenle,

Trevor Ward – Managing Director W Hospitality Group,

Wole Ogundare –  CEO Carthena Advisory Ltd,

Eniola Somorin – Head Telecommunications Business FCMB, Dr. Ayo Ighodaro – Director , Port Evolution, Samuel Wabara – Special Adviser on Industries to the Executive Governor of Abia State, Emeka Offor – Director Strategic Communications NIPC, David Mark – Corporate  Finance Sahara Group,

Osita Oparaugo – CEO FootPrint2Africa,

Sola Cordoso – Partner Hermes Capital Limited,

Gbenga Hassan – M.D Argentil Capital management limited,

Lanre Oloniyi  Founder Orbit,

The panel session on challenges and opportunities facing the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry was moderated by Wofai Samuel.

The panelists were;

Olajumoke Ajayi – Manager, Asharami Energy Ltd,

Abimbola Olufore – CEO Wycliffe Energy,

Oladeji Olawale – M.D Naphtali Ltd,

Sam Aiboni – Partner Victoria Chambers and Leesi Gborogbosi, CEO  Gabriel Domale Consulting.

With a population of over 190 million people and a growth rate of 2.7%, the demand or power in Nigeria can only be expected to rise.

There are opportunities for off grid and mini grid thus a myraid of opportunities.