Nigerians in London partner Lagos professionals to boost investment

A new initiative aimed at strengthening trade ties between Nigerian professionals in London and their counterparts in the country for better investment opportunities unfolded with the launch of Lagos Chapter of ‘Nigerians In The Square Mile’ (NISM).

NISM was established in 2008 to provide a networking forum for Nigerian bankers, lawyers, accountants and similar profession in Canary Wharf, Mayfair and the city of London, who are keen on how to attract investment from the diaspora to boost the nation’s economy.

Increased collaboration between the Nigeria in diaspora and the Lagos based professionals would help explore the potentials of the Nigerian diaspora in London to key into the investment initiatives in Nigeria, as well as attract more capital into the country.

The Chairman, NISM, Paul Onifade, while speaking at the launch of the initiative at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday in Lagos yesterday, explained that NISM is a convergence of Nigerians in London, working together to create a framework that would align London and Lagos markets.

Such affiliation, according to him, would create more trade opportunities for Nigeria and help the country to remain a hub for investment in the global market.

“The platform is an organisation of Nigerians in London, who work in influential sectors with outstanding professionals, who have been around for a while in the City of London.

“We came together as a networking organisation so that we can come up with solutions rather than looking at the problems in our country. “The idea of coming to Lagos is so that we can get the best brains in Nigeria and in London, working together strategically to come up with policies, frameworks that would move the country forward.

“As for our members, we have got quite a lot that we can offer, many of them are at the top of their career, they have worked with one of the leading organisations, the UPS, JP Morgan, and they worked at senior levels; directors, partners in KPMG, PWH Coopers and all the top institutions and we came together with this people and try to find solutions to the problem facing the nation’s economy.”

The Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Oscar Onyema, said that NISM has consistently been at the forefront of promoting investment opportunities and development of the Nigerian economy.

Onyema, who is a patron of NISM expressed optimism that the movement would connect global expertise and resources with local energy for the accelerated development of the Nigerian economy.

“One of the hallmarks of NISM, which has received global recognition is professional excellence. When I reflect on how far NISM has gone and how much the Association has grown since 2008, I am most impressed. These successes were achieved through the dedication and hard work of many people such as the founders, leaders and members of this great Association.