Osinbajo Woos Southeast Asian Investors, Meets Entrepreneurs in Agri-business, Tech, Others
- VP Yemi Osinbajo spent his second day in Vietnam marketing Nigeria as an investment destination in Africa
- The vice president wooed southeast Asian investors, visited a software company and an Academy of Agricultural Sciences
- He also met with entrepreneurs in agri-business, tech and innovation, commerce and industry in the country
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Hanoi - Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, spent the second day of his official visit to Vietnam asserting the view that for foreign investors and businesses looking at Africa, Nigeria is the straightforward choice in the continent.
According to him, despite global tensions and COVID-induced disruptions negatively impacting economies across the world, Nigeria remains one of the best places to do business in Africa because of its market viability, creative and tech-savvy youth population and potential for growth.
Source: Twitter
Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Wednesday, December 7 in Hanoi during separate interactions with a cross-section of Vietnamese interests in agribusiness, tech and innovation, commerce and industry, as he continued his official visit to the southeast Asian nation.
Speaking at the meeting with the Vietnamese business community under the auspices of the VCCI, the Vice President noted that:
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“Nigeria remains, perhaps, the most intuitive place to do business in Africa.
“Despite the economic slowdown in the aftermath of the pandemic, GDP growth has been positive for the last seven quarters, and though it slowed to 2.3% on a year-to-year basis in the third quarter of this year, it was a 9.7% increase over the second quarter.
“Apart from being the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria also has the continent’s largest economy, accounting for over 20% of continental GDP.
“The Nigerian private sector has undertaken large path-breaking investments in the country in agriculture, manufacturing, petrochemicals, finance, telecommunications and the digital economy.”
In terms of market viability, Prof. Osinbajo noted that Nigeria continues to rank very high saying:
“Our people are renowned for being energetic and tech-savvy, with over 60% of the population below 25 years of age.”
In the tech space, the VP said:
“Between 2015 and last year, six Nigerian tech-based companies have been certified as unicorns. These are companies valued at over a billion US dollars each.
“Nigeria is also now home to over 200 fintech standalone companies, plus a number of fintech solutions offered by banks and mobile network operators as part of their product portfolio.
“Between 2014 and 2019, Nigeria’s bustling fintech segment raised over $600 million in funding and attracted a quarter of the almost $500 million raised by African tech startups in 2019 alone.
“The creative sector, which employs over 4 million people and has potential to add 2.7 million by 2025, is ranked the second largest employer of labour after the agricultural sector.
“We are on course to become the 3rd largest national market, based on headcount, by the year 2050. We are already the largest financial market in Africa with market capitalization in excess of US$50 billion as at the end of last year.”
Speaking about government efforts to encourage foreign direct investments in Nigeria, the Vice President said:
“Similar opportunities are available across all parts of the Nigerian economy and since we allow 100 per cent ownership by foreign investors, these opportunities are open to partners that wish to invest in our country.
“There is also the unconditional remittance of investment capital and profits, as well as tax and duty incentives for investors.
“Other incentives, including those that pertain to individual sectors, are well detailed in a ‘Compendium of Investment Incentives in Nigeria’ produced by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and our tax authority, the Federal Inland Revenue Service.”
Chronicling the efforts of the Buhari administration, Osinbajo noted that:
“In the past seven years, we have focused strategically on radically improving infrastructure, to facilitate trade and investment, especially power, roads, railways and broadband connectivity.”
In separate remarks, the Vietnamese minister of agriculture and rural development, Mr. Le Minh Hoan, and the VCCI chairman, Pham Tan Cong, who were at the Chamber of Commerce event stated strong commitments towards collaborating more with Nigeria across different sectors.
At the Hanoi-based Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Osinbajo, in an interaction with top officials of the institution, spoke about potential collaborations between both countries especially in the area of improved seed variety production.
The vice president also had an interaction with representatives of the Nigerian community in Vietnam.
VP Osinbajo holds bilateral talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister
Recall that Osinbajo declared that Nigeria's friendship with the southeast Asian country can yield much more beneficial fruits for citizens of both nations.
Prof. Osinbajo was speaking on Monday evening, December 5 during the State Banquet held in his honour by his Vietnamese counterpart, Madam Vo Thi Anh Xuan, at the International Convention Centre, Hanoi.
He commended Vietnam's remarkable efforts in those sectors and the consistently high GDP growth despite strong global headwinds, which he added 'are worthy of emulation.'
Nigeria, Vietnam to deepen relations, as Osinbajo meets Vietnamese counterpart
Legit.ng had earlier reported that Nigeria and Vietnam plan to work together more, particularly in the areas of digital economy, telecommunications, agriculture and trade, among others, for the mutual benefit of their citizens.
Vice Presidents Osinbajo and Madam Võ Thị Ánh Xuân, his Vietnam counterpart, met on the issue of improved collaboration at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi.
Osinbajo is on a three-day official visit to the southeast Asian nation, the first high-level trip from the presidency since 2005 when then President Olusegun Obasanjo visited.
Source: Legit.ng
