Elumelu sells Nigeria as top investment destination to French business community

Serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and promoter of Africaptalism, Mr. Tony Elumelu has told the French business community that Nigeria remains the best investment destination in Africa.

In an inspiring lecture delivered recently in France, Elumelu, who was 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, told the gathering that, “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.”

According to Elumelu, some of the trends supporting long – term growth in Nigeria are the increasing use of technology by the Nigerian population, high consumerism, young demographic population 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, adding that they need to be committed to invest in Nigeria for the long haul.

L-R: France’s Ambassador for International Investment and CEO of Business France, Mrs Muriel Penicaurd; Chairman of UBA Plc and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu; Chairman of the Senate Inter parliamentary Committee on France-West Africa, Senator Charles Revet; French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Denye Gauer at the French Senate, Palais Du Luxembourg, Paris on Friday, where Mr. Tony Elumelu was guest speaker at the ‘Colloque Nigeria: Nigeria, the Leading African Economy’ forum

“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.

Elumelu, who is the Chairman of Pan-African banking group, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and proprietary investment firm, Heirs Holdings and 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.

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.