By Peter Egwuatu

Experts have predicted that Nigeria’s currency, Naira, will further depreciate while the Gross Domestic Product, GDP will further grow by almost three percent.

Addressing economic stakeholders and participants at the Stanbic IBTC’s Blue Talks Enterprise Banking webinar, Muyiwa Oni, Regional Head of Equity Research, West Africa, Standard Bank Group, said that the financial institution forecasts that Naira’s value will drop as the year progresses.

He stated: “We predict that the currency, on the official market, will be around N440 per dollar. Our view is that as long as we don’t see formal reforms in the foreign exchange market, the shortage will persist.”

While noting that due to unfavourable business environments, several investors have resolved to take their money out of the Nigerian economy, Oni also said inflation will average around 15 per cent, adding that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow by 2.9 per cent.

His words: “Last year, we saw a GDP growth of 3.4 per cent, which is still recovering from the contraction in 2020. Even with this, some people argue that the economy is not still operating at the 2019 level yet, and our view for 2022 is that we will see further economic growth which we estimate at 2.9 per cent in GDP.

“Our expectation is that the non-oil sectors will continue to drive it. We have seen strong growth in the ICT sector, trade, real estate, construction, and manufacturing as well,” he added.

Commenting on the macro-economic environment, Wole Adeniyi, the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, said that businesses in Nigeria face enormous challenges even though they are the main contributors to the country’s economy.

His words: “Enterprises play a significant role in most economies and Nigeria is no exception. These enterprises are essential contributors to job creation and economic development in Nigeria.

SMEs contribute over 48% in national GDP and account for about 96% of businesses, which in turn create about 84% of employment in 36 States across the country. However, despite the substantial contribution of SMEs to Nigeria’s economy, challenges still abound, such that the growth and development of different sectors face impediments.”

Vanguard News Nigeria