BY BAMIDELE FAMOOFO
The President of African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to tackle the challenges of insecurity for it to be able to attract foreign direct investment.
FDI has been on the decline in Africa’s largest economy as investors seek safe haven for their investment around the globe.
Speaking about the security situation in Nigeria, the African Development Bank head said, “To attract greater foreign direct investment to Nigeria, we must fix the security situation. Capital does not like to be troubled. Ultimately, investment capital must be made comfortable. Only then can it be attracted. With the right conditions in place, we can confidently say Nigeria is a great investment destination.”
Adesina said even though Nigeria faces several challenges, “the country remains an attractive investment destination.”
He made the call at the African Business Roundtable organized the event on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly recently held in New York.
Adesina described Nigeria as an ‘investors’ dream with a strong market pull, rapidly growing middle class, and burgeoning youth that can create demand and spark and spur entrepreneurship.
The bank president said: “Investors must recognize this and invest. That’s why the African Development Bank, together with the Islamic Development Bank and the French Development Agency, is investing $618 million in the Digital and Creative Enterprises Program in Nigeria. The program will support the creation of 225 creative start-ups and 451 digital technologies for small and medium-sized enterprises. They will create 6.1 million jobs and add $6.4 billion to the economy.”
Adesina said to help the country unlock its vast agricultural potential; the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Islamic Development Bank have provided $540 million to develop special agro-industrial processing zones in the country.
The funding will strengthen Nigeria’s food and agribusiness value chains and increase its competitiveness. “That is the power of international partnerships working for Nigeria,” the Bank president said.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has launched a National Development Plan (2021-2025) to generate 21 million full-time jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025. To achieve this, the country requires an investment commitment of about N348 trillion (about $809 billion) which will heavily depend on strong partnerships between the private and public sectors.
