Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) reaffirmed the importance of strategically pitching Nigeria’s investment prospects on the basis of the competitive advantages of the states and carefully positioned investible sectors and projects, in spite of the present pandemic.
The Executive Secretary/CEO, NIPC, Ms Yewande Sadiku made this assertion today at NIPC’s maiden virtual media parley known as “NIPC Meets the Press”.
She noted the projections from UNCTAD and IMF that FDI flows will slow down in 2020/2021 and most economies will face economic challenges but stressed that it equally presents optimism for local investors and businesses that can position to take advantage of the unique opportunities presented by COVID-19.
She stated that though many businesses have been negatively affected by the pandemic, new windows of opportunity have been created for the medical and pharmaceutical, technology-enabled, and ICT sectors to exploit.
During the parley, the Departments of Investment Promotion and States Coordination made presentations on profiling attractive sectors and investment opportunities and provided insights into how investment promotion is undertaken in the States.
The Director of Investment Promotion, Mr Adeshina Emmanuel stated that the Commission has been profiling various sectors of priority for attracting investments with a view to matchmaking them with investors for specific investment opportunities in selected priority sectors.
On her part, the Head of Department of States Coordination, Hajja Wakil stated that the Department has recently updated its database for States and now has better access to the appropriate contacts in the States to better deliver direct engagements between investors and the opportunities in the States.
Following a response to a question on Nigeria’s investment agreements, the NIPC CEO offered a separate session for media correspondents on the reform of Nigeria’s international investment agreements, to share the work that NIPC has done over the last 3 years.
Responding to a question on Shoprite retail outlets in Nigeria, the NIPC CEO explained that the announcement from the South African retail firm does not imply the closure of their outlets in Nigeria but that “the planned transaction may give Nigerian investors the opportunity of a controlling entity in Shoprite”.
She further stated that NIPC considers the Shoprite investment in Nigeria to be a strategic one that has played a vital role in connecting Nigerian produce and products to national and regional value chains. She also stated that the retail market sector in Nigeria, which accounts for 16% of GDP is a material driver for the growth of the economy and still presents opportunities to domestic and foreign investors.
