America is Natural Business Partner of Nigeria—Angbazo

By Dipo Olowookere

President of the American Business Council (ABC), the affiliate of the US chamber of commerce, Mr Lazarus Angbazo, has described the United States as a natural business partner of Nigeria.

Mr Angbazo, who is also the President and CEO of GE’s Business operations in Nigeria, made this disclosure at the ABC launch of the 2018 US Economic Impact Survey with the media.

The launch was the result of a comprehensive business survey of US firms operating in Nigeria and underscores the significant impact that US trade and investment has on this economy.

In the survey, 74 US companies took part, showing an aggregate of tax contributions, revenue, FDI inflows, local content, training and direct/indirect employment.

It was conducted by the Council in collaboration with the US Embassy, Accenture, KPMG, and PwC to assess the overall impact of US firms in Nigeria.

The survey showed that the contribution from US companies reinforces the role, the US play in Nigeria’s Economy, in areas of job creation, investments, training /development, tax, and CSR.

The American Business Council is an integral stakeholder in the ongoing Commercial Investment Dialogue which is intended to deepen trade investment ties between the U.S. and Nigeria as well as designed to foster sustained engagement between the two governments on concrete issues of importance to the private sector.

Also speaking at the event, CEO/Executive Secretary of ABC, Margaret Olele, stated that all US firms see CSR as a strategic plan to make an impact in the country and all these projects are sustainable.

Among other recent activities, the Council has organized strategic discussions with Nigeria’s Economic Team, all of whom have sought ABC’s feedback and input on major policy decisions. One of which is the Ease of Doing Business report presented to the Minister for Industry Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelemah.

The report is an outcome of a Business Workshop an open forum with technical experts from the Manufacturing, SME, ICT, Energy, Agriculture, Real Estate, Courier and HealthCare.