Finance Corporation invests $2bn in Nigeria – Official
The International Finance Corporation made $2 billion in investments in Nigeria, distributed among several industries, according to the Regional Vice President for Africa, Sergio Pimenta.
The PUNCH reported that Pimenta made this statement during the recent BoI-IFC Conference on Empowering Futures in Lagos, where participants convened to devise concepts and programs aimed at enhancing financial accessibility, export credit, partial credit guarantees, and other risk-sharing financing arrangements.
In his keynote speech at the conference, he stated that with $2 billion in investments, IFC has the second-largest investment portfolio in Nigeria of any country in Africa.
Pimenta claimed that the company’s investments in the nation was mostly focused on manufacturing, financial markets, infrastructure, and trade finance.
He continued, “IFC’s work promotes increased access to finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises through financial intermediaries, boosts universal energy access and green energy adoption, supports agribusiness and manufacturing to enhance food security, meets domestic needs, grows export, and fosters digitization.”
The head of the IFC claimed that trade, financial inclusion, and MSMEs’ access to financing are all significantly aided by the Nigerian financial system.
Pimenta pointed out that Nigeria had lately started enacting legislative changes to spur institutional and behavioural change among formal lenders and borrowers nationwide, strengthening the nation’s financial infrastructure even further.
“Industrialization is equally necessary to increase Nigeria’s economic potential. Naturally, Nigeria suffers a variety of difficulties, just like many other nations. Among these are the world economic uncertainties, infrastructure constraints, a lack of economic diversity, and trade and financial sector issues such as foreign exchange shortages, and limited access to finance,” he said.
In the meantime, the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Dr. Olasupo Olasuyi, announced a collaboration between the development banks to enhance export credit and financing availability to support the nation’s industrialization push.
“This conference, which brings together leaders from the financial sector and other crucial sectors of the economy to discuss how to advance Nigeria’s industrial sector, is very important and timely,” Olasuyi stated.
It may not be well remembered that the Federal Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with the IFC, established the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank, which subsequently became the Bank of Industry, in 1964.
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation aims to open up markets and opportunities where they are most needed by attracting private investment.
