As part of efforts to foster economic growth and create bilateral trade between the state of Illinois and Nigeria, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has held an inbound trade mission in Lagos.
Supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the trade mission, which was held in two days in Lagos, sought to connect business owners from select sectors in both countries.
Senior International Trade Specialist for Africa and the Middle East for the State of Illinois in the U.S., Sam Ntum, said Nigeria is a very important market with the biggest economy in Africa and could never be neglected.
Commending industry players, he said he looks forward to working with local industries as partners or representatives. He added that Lagos being the economic capital of the country, means they are doing more trade with Lagos-based businesses but intend to move to other states. “There are challenges in every market in the world, Nigeria is no exception but with correct planning in place, any business can thrive here,” he declared.
Speaking, the Lagos State commissioner for commerce, cooperatives, trade and investment, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, welcomed the potential investors, adding that more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) are needed to grow Nigeria’s GDP.
“Lagos is open for business and we are always willing to encourage bilateral trade. As we have had this incoming trade mission, we are also going to have an outbound one,” she said.
The commissioner praised the diversity of the sectors present at the trade mission, adding that the opportunities are immense. She revealed that they are improving the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) to encourage new investments to come in while retaining existing industries.
“We are in touch with the entire Business Member Organisations (BMOs) in the state and we try to address the challenges faced by industries. Most times, we don’t even wait for them to come to us, we try to be proactive by solving some of the problems industries face before they even come to us,” she said.
Illinois-based business owner, CEO, SDI Engineering and Construction, Olufemi Oladeinde, said this is a homecoming for him. He added that he has met with several civil engineers and construction business owners since he arrived and was happy to bring in knowledge transfer and funding from the U.S. to Lagos.
Vice President, Bush Infotech, Quentella Enty, praised the event as the most productive mission their company has ever embarked upon in Africa. He said the meetings were of utmost quality with many businesses committing to using their products.
“We will harness the outcomes of this mission and look forward to returning to Nigeria shortly,” he said. Acting Director-General, the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Wofai Samuel, described the event as one of the biggest wins for both countries’ bilateral economic engagements for the year.
“There are lots of missions to Nigeria by various platforms but the number of businesses we accommodated to meet with Illinois companies, their varied locations as well as the quality of these businesses is a differentiation. Seeing business exchanges, collaborations and partnerships as well as new clientele formed, MoUs signed with deals closed, gave us immense fulfillment.”
She added that promoting two-way trade where the U.S. not only supports Nigeria and provides FDI, but Nigeria also patronising businesses from America and becomes the official representative of American products and businesses for the region is a big win. Revealing that they would embark on more inbound and outbound trade missions, she said the success of this one has encouraged them to do more.
