Nigeria, UK investors seal N153.4bn commercial deals

Nigerian and United Kingdom (UK) investors have sealed commercial deals worth more than N153.4 billion at the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit held yesterday in London.

Disclosing this in a statement made available to Vanguard, the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos, said that the summit, which was designed to create lasting new partnerships that deliver more investment, jobs and growth, benefitting people and businesses across Nigeria and the UK, featured announcements of commercial, trade and investment deals.

Specifically, the N153.4 billion deals were announced by Savannah (for gas asset); Low Energy Designs (for street lighting); Trilliant (for smart metering for Abuja DisCo); and Tex ATC (for airport control room towers).

On trade and investment support, the Department for International Development (DFID) launched three major programmes that will benefit African countries, including Nigeria.

These are: N13.1 billion Investment Promotion Programme for Nigeria and South Africa to stimulate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and facilitate technology and knowledge transfer; N17.5 billion Growth Gateway programme, offering trade and investment business support services across Africa; and N9.5 billion Trade Connect programme to increase exports from Africa to the rest of the world through the provision of direct support and advice.

Commenting, British High Commissioner Catriona Laing, who attended the Summit, said: “Nigeria has already secured billions of naira worth of deals from the summit. With the launch of an exciting range of initiatives to help investors identify opportunities in Nigeria, I am confident much more will follow.”

Also speaking, Head of Department for International Development (DFID) in Nigeria, Chris Pycroft, said: “The private sector has a critical role to play in supporting Nigeria’s economic growth and in creating the jobs that Nigeria’s young and growing population need. The UK-Africa Investment Summit was an excellent opportunity for Nigeria to show off the wealth of opportunities it offers businesses, from agriculture to mining to tech.”

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