ABB eyes share of $17b African energy marke

AN international energy provider, ABB, has set opted to fully exploit the potentials in African energy market, estimated at about $17 billion (about N3.2 trillion).

Identifying the continent as one of the world’ fastest growing economies, ABB said it was determined to contribute significantly through its power and automation solutions .

The Chief Executive Officer, ABB Limited, Ulrich Spiesshofer, during a visit to Nigeria recently, said ABB is focusing on Africa generally and putting Nigeria on top of its focus.

He lauded the Federal Government’s agenda towards growing the economy and particularly improving electricity supply.

This, according to him, was in line with the ABB’s vision which spurs it to invest over $1.5 billion yearly on research and development.

“ABB is investing in people and increasing its presence and footprint in Nigeria. The company does not only bring state-of-the-art products and solution, but also brings in expertise in many technical areas as well as investing in Nigerians to secure sustainability,” he said.

Spiesshofer was in Nigeria as part of the week-long trip to several countries in Africa where the company has identified investment and growth opportunities. During the trip, he met government officials and major customers to identify ways in which the company could support their growth and development.

After a meeting with the Presidency in Abuja, Spiesshofer said the company’s strong presence in Lagos and Abuja is strategic to explore opportunities in various and diversified areas including transmission and distribution, oil and gas, process industries and many other new trends such as renewables, micro-grids and data centres.

According to him, Africa is home to the world’s fastest growing markets and its population is expected to exceed those of China and India combined by 2040, making it an important market for ABB.

Stressing that innovation, passion and diversity are the hallmarks of ABB, he said, “As a global leader in power and automation technologies, ABB is continuously pioneering reliable, cleaner and more efficient energy and automation solutions, helping its customers increase the productivity of their industrial and infrastructure operations.”

The Switz Ambassador to Nigeria, Eric Mayoraz, during the visit, assured of the consular’s support to drive more Switz companies to invest in Nigeria as well as encouraging the existing ones.

In view of this, he said the consular has established Switz business community and Switz business consul in Lagos to foster business relationship between the two nations.