In an interview with ARISE NEWS at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Nigerian Trade Minister Jumoke Oduwole noted that the country a “beautiful bride”, open for business and positioning itself as a strategic global partner with friends across continents, including Brazil, India, China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
She said, “Nigeria is a beautiful bride. We’re friends with China, we’re friends with Brazil. The Indian Prime Minister after 17 years was in Nigeria, UAE, we’re having meetings, Saudi Arabia, Germany, we’re open for business and we’re looking at everybody’s body language including the United States.”
Oduwole also highlighted Nigeria’s ambition to become an outsourcing champion, similar to the Philippines.
“With five of Africa’s nine unicorns originating from Nigeria, the country is aggressively positioning itself in digital trade and services. The government is actively working to create productive jobs for youth through strategic digital interventions.
“Nigeria is here on a very targeted mission this year, where as digital trade champions under AfCFTA, we announced that in December, we’ve been speaking to investors about Nigeria’s services sector. That is where we’re competitive and exports of services. So, how we can be outsource champions like the Philippines is, Nigeria wants to dominate that space and we have quite a few interventions for the federal government harnessing investment into that space. We’ve also been showcasing our fintechs, we’ve been showcasing our financial services, how we go across the continent speaking this morning at the AfCFTA breakfast was Mr. Vice President just telling the continent about how Nigeria is positioning in digital trade.”
Oduwole underscored Nigeria’s diplomatic and economic openness, describing the nation as having with strong friendships across key global economies.
The minister further outlined critical focus areas for attracting international investment, such as the services sector, fintech and financial services, healthcare manufacturing, as well as creating a transparent, trustworthy regulatory environment.
Addressing the potential for diaspora investment, Oduwole emphasised the need to build trust by creating an open regulatory environment that listens and implements feedback.
She said, “We need to build the trust. We need to let them know that the regulatory environment is open for them, that we listen and we implement, we track.”
She also added, “The US is a strategic partner for Nigeria. We continue to do good business with Nigeria and the United States. We also have made it clear that we’ll be watching the body language of President Trump. We’ll be watching his commerce secretary and what they have to offer for Nigeria. We work very closely with the diplomats right now in Nigeria. We continue to look forward to that.”
Melissa Enoch
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