The Chairman of Heirs Holdings Group, Tony Elumelu, has urged the Indian private sector to invest in Nigeria because it poses a huge market on the African continent.
Elumelu told the Indian investors to seize the opportunity to invest in Nigeria because this is the best time.
He made this statement during the Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Conference on Wednesday, in New Delhi, India.
The roundtable was jointly organised by the High Commission of Nigeria to India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC).
Elumelu, who has built pan-African financial service businesses and controls significant power and natural resources operations, all focused on value creation in Africa, was in Delhi for the G20 Summit.
He was in the company of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as an invitee and as well as a co-chair of the Business 20 (B20) Action Council focusing on African economic integration, the private sector counterpart to the G20.
Speaking during a keynote address, Elumelu invited urged the Indian private sector leaders to join him and other global investors in accessing the rapidly evolving Nigerian economy, home to 20% of Africans and one of the largest consumer populations globally.
“This is the time to invest in Nigeria. I speak as a private sector investor in Nigeria, the companies in our Group’s investment portfolio demonstrate the opportunity. I believe you also can take advantage of our track record and success,” he said.
“Nigeria is a huge market; over 200 million people with the largest economy on the continent. Most importantly, the population is not just over 200 million people; the demography of the population is exciting.”
At the Presidential roundtable, hosted by Tinubu, Indian investors pledged investments of nearly $14 billion to Nigeria, following the Nigerian president’s commitment to create the enabling environment for foreign investments to thrive.
“We have a cohort of young people who are there to consume, and we also have people who are intelligent, energetic, hardworking, who provide the human capital that investors need to drive their businesses,” he added.
