Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries, Norfund, has described Nigeria as Norway’s most important market in Africa, noting that efforts are being made to increase investments in the giant of the continent.
Nigeria is one of the biggest economies in Africa and has the largest market because of its population of over 200 million, according to the government.
At an event held in Lagos recently, Norfund said it intends to drive development in Nigeria and create jobs through investments in the private sector.
“Set to become the world’s third most populated country, Nigeria is Norway’s most important market on the African continent as we believe there is a huge opportunity for growth in Nigerian industries.
“We are impressed by the measures taken by the government to strengthen the startup community especially, as underlined by the Startup Act signed by (former) President Muhammadu Buhari in October.
“Moreover, Norway is in the process of updating its African strategy, and I’m proud that the Norway-Nigeria relations reflect this, with business and investments taking centre stage.
“We thank Norfund for its role in strengthening Nigerian-Norway relations in the most meaningful way,” the Ambassador of Norway to Nigeria, Knut Eiliv Lein, represented by the Business Counsellor for the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abuja, Eivind Fjeldstad, said.
Also speaking, the Executive Vice-President of Scalable Enterprises at Norfund, Ellen Cathrine Rasmussen, said, “At the core of Norfund’s operations is the mission to create jobs, improve lives, and invest in sustainable businesses.
“Operating within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs framework, which we are a part of, we can set our strategy, make investment decisions, and remain agile whilst adapting to market opportunities. Africa is the most important region for Norfund.
“A minimum of 50 per cent of investments we commit to are on the continent because it is the market of the future. We support the companies we invest in and nurture the entire ecosystem, as its collective strength will enable us to aid Nigeria in sustainable growth.
“Nigeria is of key importance to Norfund due to its strategic geographical placement, a young and vibrant population, and its ever-growing economy. Norfund is here to contribute to realizing this growth potential.”
Norfund, the government’s most important instrument for strengthening the private sector in developing countries, was established by the Norwegian parliament in 1997.
It is focused on driving sustainable development with equity, debt and hybrid instruments capital and fund investments to businesses and projects with strong developmental impact and commercial returns.
As a responsible investor, Norfund contributes to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by investing for both commercial return and development impact and focusing on countries and sectors where capital is scarce, and development impact is likely to be strong.
