Business Opportunities in Nigeria

Nigeria, among other Sub-Saharan African countries, is a focus market under the U. S. Government presidential policy directive ?U. S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa? under which the United States will pursue four objectives in the region: strengthening democratic institutions; spurring economic growth, trade and investment; advancing peace and security; and promoting opportunity and development. The U. S. Commercial Service in Nigeria (CS Nigeria) is proactively supporting this presidential initiative under the aegis of the ?Doing Business in Africa? campaign. Nigeria?s annual growth rate averaged over seven percent during the past decade. As a result, the country is regarded as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. To sustain this annual growth rate, the Government of Nigeria (GON) is privatizing important sectors of Nigeria?s economy, promoting public-private partnerships and encouraging strategic alliances with foreign firms especially for infrastructure development and technology acquisition in critical sectors such as security, power generation, transportation, and healthcare. Nigeria is the chief driver of international trade in Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which consists of sixteen countries. Market analysts from the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) claim that Nigeria accounts for over 40 percent of imports in the sub-region and ranks among Africa?s largest consumer markets. As a gateway to fifteen smaller West African countries and a net importer of equipment, Nigeria can be a very rewarding market for U. S. companies that take the time and effort to understand its complex market conditions and opportunities, find the right partners and clients, and take a long-term approach to market development. Recent developments in some key industry sectors offer U. S. exporters a range of opportunities. For instance, the Agricultural Transformational Agenda (ATA) is a priority program for the GON that is getting a lot of attention and support from the World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). While the World Bank has said that it will commit $1 billion to support Nigeria?s agricultural sector in the next five years, IFAD will commit $88.5 million to the program. Procurement opportunities for farm inputs include farm tractors, irrigation systems, agricultural fertilizers, pest control and improved seeds.