The Nigerian government has been able to secure commercial deals worth £324 million (over ₦153.4 billion) from the inaugural United Kingdom-Africa Investment Summit which was held in London on Monday, January 20, 2020.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who led the delegation from Nigeria, held meetings with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. The summit was designed to create lasting partnerships that will lead to more investment, jobs, and growth, inevitably benefitting people and businesses across Nigeria and the UK, a statement released by the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos says.
“Nigeria has already secured billions of naira worth of deals from the summit,” said Catriona Laing, British High Commissioner who attended the Summit, adding that these deals will “launch an exciting range of initiatives to help investors identify opportunities in Nigeria.”
The announcements of the ₦153.4 billion commercial, trade, and investment deals centre on a gas asset, Low Energy Designs (street lighting), Trilliant (smart metering for Abuja DisCo); and Tex ATC (airport control room towers).
On trade and investment support, the Department for International Development (DFID) launched three major programs that will benefit African countries, including Nigeria. The first major program is a ₦13.1 billion Investment Promotion Programme for Nigeria and South Africa to stimulate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and also facilitate technology and knowledge transfer.
The second program tagged Growth Gateway is worth ₦17.5 billion, offering trade and investment business support services across the continent. The last one dubbed Trade Connect is worth ₦9.5 billion and aims to increase exports from Africa to the rest of the world through the provision of direct support and advice.
According to Chris Pycroft, Head of DFID in Nigeria, the UK-Africa Investment Summit was “an excellent opportunity for Nigeria to show off the wealth of opportunities it offers businesses, from agriculture to mining to tech.”
Similarly, the UK announced that support will be given to the Nigerian economy through enabling environment to turbo-charge economic growth, strengthening and improving the finance sector, helping entrepreneurs secure access to finance, preparing grounds for the launch of the UK naira-denominated bonds Jollof Bonds, amongst others.
A report by TheGuardianUK further says British investors are targeting a $24 billion investment opportunity by helping to connect millions of people without access to electricity to off-grid home solar power systems in Africa. While the UK government is also looking to invest up to £45 million in sub-Saharan Africa’s leading tech economies – Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa – to support inclusive connectivity and digital literacy, build cybersecurity capacity and establish Tech Hubs to grow the digital economy.
