Get Guardian on GoogleGlobal investors target diverse sectors but warn of policy drag
Nigeria is courting a potential investment pipeline of nearly $100 billion from international investors, but slow policy implementation, inadequate infrastructure and an unfriendly business environment could frustrate efforts to convert the interest into actual capital inflows. This is according to the organiser of an ongoing international investment summit in Abuja.
The investment interest, spanning more than 50 countries, presented an opportunity for Nigeria to attract foreign capital into critical sectors, reduce import dependence, expand domestic production, create jobs and strengthen its foreign exchange position.
However, the President of Business Summit Group, Dr M. Haider Uzzaman, cautioned that attracting investors would amount to little if the country failed to establish the institutional, policy and operational conditions required to make investments viable and sustainable.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the two-day investment summit, Uzzaman said investors with almost $100 billion in potential investment commitments were looking at opportunities across Nigeria’s oil and gas, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, fintech, agriculture, agritech, poultry, education, healthcare and logistics sectors.
He said the summit had attracted participants from more than 50 countries, including the United Kingdom, Brazil, the United States, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Bangladesh, with some investors participating virtually.
The scale of interest, if translated into actual investments, could provide significant capital for infrastructure development, industrial expansion and private-sector growth at a time when Nigeria needs to reduce its dependence on imports, ease pressure on foreign exchange and create productive employment.
But Uzzaman warned that Nigeria was competing against more than 200 countries aggressively positioning themselves to attract international capital.
According to him, investors no longer wait for governments to invite them but compare investment destinations based on policy certainty, ease of doing business, infrastructure, governance and the overall experience of operating in a country.
He said things are still a little bit slow, and Nigeria needed to remove existing barriers and create a more welcoming investment environment to remain competitive.
He argued that the country’s investment promotion strategy must move beyond hosting conferences and announcing investment opportunities to deliberately marketing Nigeria internationally and improving the conditions under which businesses operate.
Uzzaman disclosed that his organisation had facilitated approximately $1 billion in investments in Plateau State alone over the past nine months, covering projects in different sectors.
One of the projects is the proposed Jos dry port, in which he said he was personally investing an initial $11 million, with the objective of making the facility operational within one year.
The dry port, he explained, would serve businesses across the North-Central region and neighbouring countries, including Cameroon, Chad and Niger, potentially improving regional trade, logistics and access to markets.
Beyond infrastructure, Uzzaman identified Nigeria’s dependence on imported food products as evidence of the country’s failure to fully exploit its domestic production capacity.
He expressed concern that imported liquid milk products were readily available in Nigerian markets while domestic milk processing capacity remained inadequate.
Describing the situation as a major industrialisation challenge, he argued that a country with a population of about 240 million should have a stronger domestic dairy processing industry capable of supplying its own market.
He said investors from Bangladesh were already exploring opportunities in agriculture and poultry production, while other international companies were interested in developing shipbuilding, ship management and ship repair businesses in Nigeria.
The proposed investments could help deepen local value chains, reduce food imports, conserve foreign exchange and create employment opportunities if backed by adequate infrastructure and supportive policies.
Uzzaman also identified artificial intelligence and data centres as emerging investment opportunities, alongside renewable energy and fintech, stressing that Nigeria must position itself to benefit from the global shift towards technology-driven production and services.
He, however, insisted that investment promotion must be accompanied by deliberate government action, particularly through stronger investment promotion agencies and targeted international campaigns.
He urged the Federal Government to make the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and other relevant agencies more proactive, adequately funded and focused on attracting investors into clearly identified sectors.
Citing Malaysia’s ‘Truly Asia’ tourism campaign as an example, he said the country had invested more than $300 million in international promotion and maintained substantial annual budgets to attract foreign investors and tourists.
He argued that Nigeria needed a similarly coordinated strategy to sell its economic opportunities to the international business community.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Uzzaman warned that there is an international media conspiracy against Nigeria which scares investors away from the country. He also advised Nigerians to stop discouraging investors with their comments.
The investment climate, he added, must also be assessed beyond government policies to include the experience of foreign investors from the moment they arrive at Nigerian airports.
According to him, immigration officials, hotel operators, transport providers and other service professionals all contribute to the perception of Nigeria as an investment destination.
