By Nigeria is both a geographic and an economic gateway to sub-Saharan Africa. As a geographic gateway, it has a prime location between West and Central Africa.
In other words, investing in Nigeria gives investors easy access to close to 550 million people- 200 million from Nigeria, another 200 million West Africans and about 150 million Central Africans, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy of Nigeria, Dr Isa Ali Pantami has said.
The Nigerian Minister made this assertion today while delivering the keynote address at the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) titled “NIGERIA’S DIGITAL ECONOMY: A GOLDEN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY. The investment forum is part of the official activities at the ongoing 40th edition of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX).
Pantami who doubles as the leader of the Nigerian delegation called on potential investors not to shun the golden opportunity of investing in the largest economy in Africa (Nigeria), “Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, with a 2019 GDP estimate by the World Bank putting our GDP at $448 billion”, he said.
Adding that “Nigeria is part of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and it gives us access to the African continent covering an area worth over US$3 trillion in GDP and eliminates tariffs on 90% of goods traded across the continent. This is no doubt a unique opportunity for investors in Nigeria”.
Pantami noted that in a bid to provide policy direction for the digital sector in Nigeria, the President Muhammadu Buhari launched and unveiled the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria which is based on the following 8 pillars.
1. Developmental Regulation;
2. Digital Literacy and Skills;
3. Solid Infrastructure;
4. Service Infrastructure;
5. Digital Services Development and Promotion;
6. Soft Infrastructure;
7. Digital Society and Emerging Technologies; and
8. Indigenous Content Development and Adoption.
Nigerians are very friendly people and our business environment is conducive, Pantami concluded.
