The French government is committed to doing business with Nigeria with a mandate to keep the torch burning.

This was said by the Consul General of France in Lagos, Laurent Favier, over the weekend at the business forum of the 2025 French Week in Lagos, organised by the Franco-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

According to him, energy, agriculture, technology, finance, and services underpin resilient value chains.

He encouraged all delegates at the event to move beyond ideas and pursue actionable B2B or B2G engagements that can be implemented in the near future.

He said the forum, which is probably the climax of the French week, is an ideal opportunity to turn dialogue into concrete partnerships, but also to inspire minds for future cooperation.

He mentioned that Nigeria’s four largest financial institutions, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA, and First Bank of Nigeria, are already present in Paris. This is very good news because having a bank allows launching projects from Paris to Nigeria.

He said that beyond the banking sector, “We can also observe a growing appetite from French or Nigerian companies in agriculture, tech, and creative industries, and this is brand new. It means that our bilateral economic ties are increasing, and it also means that there is a dynamic drive towards a more balanced relationship between our two countries.”

“Cross-investment is exactly what the France-Nigeria business council brings to the table. I wish this tendency would take root in the future.

Together with the team in France, as we call it, we support the establishment of French companies in Nigeria, but also support Nigerian enterprise companies to settle in France.

“We organise sectoral missions, business programmes that connect French business with Nigerian opportunities and vice versa. The chamber, for example, the dynamic ecosystem continues to create this kind of platform, like today, for high-level exchanges. Together, these institutions accelerate France-Nigeria trade and help build sustainable relationships.

“Our collective objective remains to identify bankable projects, facilitate financial pipelines, create partnerships and generate jobs, transfer skills and create prosperity. The momentum in recent partnership and finance announcements between France and Nigeria demonstrates the readiness for deeper collaboration. To continue on this dynamic, we are already working on the next ministerial visit with a huge delegation, I hope huge, with the international as canary in 2026,” he said.

Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Lagos, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, said the theme of the event captures the essence of shared ambition to transform commerce into collaboration, trade into trust, and investment into inclusive growth.

Ambrose-Medebem noted that with a GDP of approximately $259 billion for PPP, Lagos ranks among Africa’s largest economies, contributing in excess of 30 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP.

She said it is a centre, a mega-centre, a global centre of trade, technology and services that is vibrant, youthful and globally connected. For French and Nigerian business interests, Lagos State offers three strategic advantages, which are scale, dynamism and access to a market of over 200 million Nigerians and to the broader West African region.

She said: “Our government’s vision is very clear. To make Lagos State a model for sustainable, innovation-driven growth.”

She noted that from FinTech to AI, health tech to digital agriculture, the Lagos startup scene is dynamic, entrepreneurial, youthful and ambitious. For French tech firms, investors and incubators, the opportunity is clear. Partner with Lagos innovators to co-create solutions for Africa and the world.

She stated that this is where the Franco-Nigerian chamber has pivotal roles to play, connecting French accelerators with Lagos hubs, venture capital with startups and research, and development institutions across both nations, saying, “Together we can build the France-Lagos Innovation Corridor.”

President, France-Nigeria Business Council, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said that when President Macron established the French-Nigerian Business Council in 2019, his vision was clear: to move the two nations beyond diplomacy into practical economic cooperation led by the private sector.

Since then, he said, the French-Nigerian Business Council, supported by business leaders, diplomats, and innovators, has become a living bridge between France and Nigeria, and indeed Africa.

Aig-Imoukhuede, who was represented by the Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Holdings Plc, Innocent Ike, said not only has it become a living bridge, but it has also been translated into quotes.

“We have advanced partnerships across energy, infrastructure, finance, and culture, reflecting the shared values of innovation, sustainability, and resolution. One of the early collaborations now underway is the Agora project, a forward-looking platform co-developed by France and African partners to reimagine urban sustainability,” he said.