Serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and promoter of
Africaptalism, Tony O. Elumelu on 27 May 2016, delivered an inspiring speech in
Paris, France, selling Nigeria as an investment destination to the French
business community.
Elumelu, who is the Chairman of Pan-African banking group,
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and proprietary investment firm, Heirs
Holdings delivered the speech as a guest speaker at the 1st ‘Colloque Nigeria',
a colloquium on doing business and investment in Nigeria, which was
organised by the French Senate at the exquisite Palais de Luxembourg in Paris,
France.
Speaking at the conference, the Founder of the Tony Elumelu
Foundation said that like every part of the world, investors in Nigeria and
Africa are faced with a myriad of challenges, but amidst these challenges no
other destinations provided more opportunities and return on investment as do
Nigeria and Africa. "Nigeria remains a very viable, attractive and
important investment and export destination for French companies. As a matter
of fact, I would argue that now is a good time to come and invest in Nigeria,
because it is an investor’s market. The fundamentals of the Nigerian economy
remain strong," he said.
According to Elumelu, some of the trends supporting long -
term growth in Nigeria are the increased use of technology by the Nigerian
population, high consumerism, young demographic and increasing urbanization.
Whilst encouraging French businesses to come and discover Nigeria, he advised
the would - be investors to find the right partner that would help them
navigate the environment and stated that they need be committed to invest in
Nigeria for the long haul.
"Nigeria has always been a unique country. We are not
only the most populous country on the continent of Africa, we are amongst the
best educated and most-traveled people in Africa. We Nigerians are
well known for our positive outlook and can-do spirit. Even more
importantly, we have a strong culture and spirit of entrepreneurship. The smart
investor, knows that this is the time to enter our market because the
fundamentals of the Nigerian economy remain strong, and where others perceive
risk and challenge, the glass is actually half full rather than half empty," Elumelu said.
He asserted that despite the current challenges faced by
Nigeria which have been brought about by the sharp drop in commodity prices,
the country still offers one of the highest returns on investment on the
continent
Citing the example of what UBA has been able to achieve in
Nigeria, Elumelu said that UBA has operated profitably in Nigeria for the past
70 years and in the last decade, increased its footprint into 18 other
countries in Africa as it set up business offices in Paris, New York and
London. “UBA is helping to finance major projects in infrastructure, as well as
in the agriculture and construction sectors of the African countries in which
we operate, most of these being francophone countries. We have continued to
open more UBA branches of our subsidiaries and we have become better
established in those markets. The second stage of the roll out on the
continent begins later this year”.
"The large Nigerian economy plays an important leading role
in West Africa and beyond. So when you invest in Nigeria, the benefits
spill over to our neighbours in dozens of countries," he continued.
He thanked the investing community for their enthusiasm
about investing in Nigeria and he encouraged them to "believe in
Nigeria; come to Nigeria; discover Nigeria; invest in Nigeria; help develop
Nigeria and prosper with Nigerians; and most importantly, take an
Africapitalist approach to entering and investing in Nigeria because what we
are looking for are sustainable partnerships that will deliver sustainable
development through the private sector going about its normal commercial
activities," he concluded.
Also speaking at the Colloque Nigeria summit,
the President of the French Senate, Mr. Gerard Larcher stressed that the summit
is strategic to French business interests as Nigeria remains the first
destination of French investment in sub Saharan Africa. " We want to
strengthen these privileged links, said the President.
He thanked Mr Elumelu for his sterling contributions to the
economic development of the continent, and especially in the area of
entrepreneurship where the Tony Elumelu Foundation - through its Tony Elumelu
Entrepreneurship Programme - has been engaging in promoting start-up businesses
across the continent.
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