What Makes Nigeria the Best Investment Hub in Africa?

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam may make use of its valued friendship with Nigeria to get access to the sizable Nigerian and African markets, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who also described Nigeria as the greatest and most natural location for investment in Africa.

This claim was made by Prof. Osinbajo during his meeting with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, who also expressed a strong commitment to use and strengthen the current friendship and diplomatic ties with Nigeria for economic development, particularly in the fields of agriculture, oil, and gas, and telecommunications.

As the VP was wrapping up a 3-day official tour to Vietnam, Prof. Osinbajo paid a courtesy call to the President. The interaction between the two leaders was quite cordial and pleasant. The Vietnamese President greeted the Vice President directly outside the structure and held his hand as they entered the Presidential Palace together. President Phuc once more led the vice president outside when the meeting was over, this time walking with him to his car and waving as it left.

The vice president had discussions with his counterpart, Madam Vo Thi Anh Xuan, and the prime minister, Phm Minh Chnh, over the first two days of his tour, according to a statement by his media assistant, Laolu Akande. He also spoke with members of the Nigerian community in Vietnam, met with the Vietnamese business community under the auspices of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and paid visits to the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the FTP University, and its software company.

Despite the economic slowdown brought on by the pandemic, Prof. Osinbajo stated on Tuesday during a speech at the VCCI that Nigeria is still the most logical place to conduct business. He noted that GDP growth has been positive for the last seven quarters, and even though it slowed to 2.3% on a year-over-year basis in the third quarter of this year, it was still a 9.7% increase over the second quarter.

“Apart from being the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria also has the continent’s largest economy, accounting for over 20% of continental GDP. The Nigerian private sector has undertaken large path-breaking investments in the country in agriculture, manufacturing, petrochemicals, finance, telecommunications, and the digital economy,” he added.

Prof. Osinbajo observed that Nigeria continues to rank quite highly in terms of market viability, remarking how “our people are renowned for being energetic and tech-savvy, with over 60% of the population below 25 years of age.”

The VP mentioned the tech industry. “between 2015 and last year, 6 Nigerian tech-based companies have been certified as unicorns. These are companies valued at over a billion US dollars each.

“Nigeria is also now home to over 200 stand-alone FinTech companies, plus several FinTech solutions offered by banks and mobile network operators as part of their product portfolio. Between 2014 and 2019, Nigeria’s bustling FinTech segment raised over $600 million in funding and attracted a quarter of the almost $500 million raised by African tech startups in 2019 alone.”

He continued “the creative sector which employs over 4 million people and has the potential to add 2.7 million by 2025, is ranked the second largest employer of labour after the agricultural sector.

“We are on course to become the 3rd largest national market, based on headcount by the year 2050. We are already the largest financial market in Africa with a market capitalization in excess of US$50 billion as of the end of last year.”

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