I had heard that it rained a lot in Manchester but as I arrived the City of Liverpool on the eve of the International Festival for Business Africa Rising Event, I was welcomed with an even bigger downpour. It prevented me exploring the city of the Beatles and Liverpool/Everton rivalries until the following morning, when I walked to the Cunard Building where the event was taking place.
But those arrival clouds were the only dark spot on an otherwise brilliant event.
I was inspired to see the high level of interest from UK companies wanting to do business in Africa’s new No.1 economy. They ranged across a variety of sectors including infrastructure, fashion & beauty, food & drink, education & training, oil & gas to name a few.
And whilst we’re on facts and figures, here’s the booming Nigerian economy summarized in three facts:
- It’s the largest economy in the African Continent, with a population of over 170M
- It’s Africa’s biggest oil exporter with the largest natural gas reserves in the continent.
- Its GDP growth has been over 6% for the past 7 years.
You can see from the above why I was so pleased to see the number of UK companies who have an interest in the African, and specifically the Nigerian market, and a good number of experts from Nigerian business and government. It provided a real showcase to promote the opportunities and identify the challenges of doing business in the fast growing African continent to UK businesses
The presentations from a wide variety of informed speakers at the event really brought home to me the breadth of opportunity in the continent and the scale of the opportunity for UK plc.
Each UKTI country rep was invited to speak about their country during the ‘Destination Africa’ networking event on the same evening, and I was excited to represent my team and showcase my national dress (pictured) as well as evangelise the opportunities in Nigeria and point UK businesses towards this thriving economy.
I was also delighted to meet the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Nigeria, Mr David Heath just a week before his visit to Lagos with three business delegations: one focusing on our UKTI/Shell supply chain programme, and Chamber visits from London Chamber and Aberdeen & Grampian Chambers of Commerce.
Africa Rising saw a large and dynamic Nigerian presence in Liverpool. We are confident that it will lead to more UK companies coming to Nigeria.
UKTI helps many thousands of companies increase their profits and grow through export every year
Find news and services information from UKTI at gov.uk/ukti, or arrange a meeting with a UKTI international trade adviser
1 comment
Comment by Winston ayeni posted on
I am a surveyor,I had worked in the surveyors council of Nigeria for over 6yrs. I had then suggested a group to be called SURVEYORS WITHOUT BOARDERS. Any suggestions or advice on this