Nigeria secures more deals at investors’ marketplace

Nigeria dominated the maiden edition of African Investment Forum, as West African region grossed the highest value in deals with the country carting home major share of the $13.1 billion investment secured by the region.

The Investment Forum which was held in South Africa last year, saw African countries raise up to $38.7 billion, with Nigeria accounting for $7 billion.

According to the Senior Country Director for Nigeria at AfDB, Mr. Ebrima Faal, the country secured 14.9% of the deals that were closed at the investment market by African countries.

It is a multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary collaborative platform for international business and social impact investors looking to invest in the continent. It is also a highly-transactional marketplace dedicated to advancing projects to bankable stages, raising capital, and accelerating the financial closure of deals.

In 2018, over 2,000 participants representing 87 countries attended the event, including eight heads of governments. Deals worth a total of $46.9 billion were discussed with 49 deals valued at $38.7 billion secured.

These were disclosed by Faal during a roadshow to promote the second edition of the forum scheduled to hold in South Africa in November. He said Nigeria could do better, as the country pulled five deals worth $7 billion out of the 63 boardroom deals presented at the last forum.

“This year, it is paramount that we not only maintain our place as a pacesetter but also collectively strive to improve on the quality and quantity of deals closed.”

Nigeria held 43% of the total deals closed by the West African region, which secured the highest value of deals closed by the continent. The deals secured by West Africa accounted for 36% of the total deals, with Southern Africa raising 22.7%. West Africa proposed nineteen projects worth $16.1 billion, of which 16 projects valued at $13.1 billion were secured. Nigeria earned $7 billion out of this figure.

Nigeria needs about $3 trillion by 2024 to bridge its infrastructural gap. With this, private placement like the African Investment Forum is expected to ease its financial gap as the gross international reserves of about $45 billion and a pension fund of about N8 trillion are not enough.