#BusinessNews: Investors gather in London for Nigeria’s ICT potentials
The Nigerian Diaspora Direct Investment Summit (NDDIS) in London has announced its next ‘face to face’ summit with the theme: “Computer Village” & Information Communication Technology (ICT) Summit. At an online meeting of the organisation, the Trade and Investment Minister of the Nigerian High Commission, Mr Oludare Folowosele, expressed his happiness about this new initiative which he says will be very beneficial to the economy of Nigeria. ‘We believe this summit will be very beneficial to the ICT sector in Nigeria and will be a boost to the Nigerian economy. As a mission, we will continue to partner with the NDDIS to attract investments into Nigeria.
The founder of NDDIS, Otunba Bimbo Roberts Folayan announced that NDDIS had entered into collaboration with the ‘Computer Village Market Management Board’ and is in talks with the Nigerian High Commission, Office of the Prime Minister’s Trade envoy to Nigeria, Department of International Trade, NIDCOM, Ministry of Communications, Lagos, Kano, FCT, Nasarawa and Ogun states to organise a world class investment summit in London, to attract international investors, computer accessories manufacturers, suppliers, exporters and IT experts to invest into the Computer Village in Nigeria, (which is the largest ICT market in Africa). The National assembly committees on ICT and Telecommunications, Diaspora and international Investors; UK ICT Captains and Players; TELCOS; Exporters, Bankers and IT Professionals are being invited to this year’s Summit in London.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the NDDIS Steering Committee (and Chair of the British African Business Alliance), David Smith, stated that attracting investment into the ICT sector in Nigeria and especially into the Computer village is Expanding Africa’s Largest ICT Hub and building capacity & Investment into Nigeria.
In a related development, NDDIS has announced the appointment of Otunba Biodun Ajiboye as the Nigerian Liaison Director to strengthen its operations in Nigeria. Otunba Ajiboye will mobilise participation of important stakeholders from Nigeria. He joins the 35-member committee of the Nigerian Diaspora experts. According to the new Director, the continued growth of ICT is making a new case for investment and It has never been more crucial to build the capacity & sustainability of ICT in Nigeria for development.
The event will kick off with an evening of networking Cocktail and Launching at the banquet hall of the Nigerian High Commission on the 26th of August and is expected to be addressed by the new Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafat Ishola, the new British Prime Minister’s Trade envoy to Nigeria, Mrs Helen Grant (MP), the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM), Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa and other business leaders to declare the summit open in a relaxed environment with light speeches, music, food and wine. This will be followed, the next day 27th August with the Main summit, exhibition and Deal Room meetings. This multitrack summit will bring together a unique and International mix of large and medium financial, telco, e-commerce, computer accessories manufacturing and other types of companies. The exhibition stands and deal rooms will run in parallel with the summit
providing delegates the chance to get updated information from companies and enable deal room discussions to strike deals in a B2B environment.
Several investors have been invited to sit in the ‘deal rooms’ to engage with Nigerian government and business leaders. High profile government officials, Computer Accessories Manufacturers, Suppliers, Exporters, IT experts and Investors and other speakers will present investment and business opportunities to a large audience. The event is expected to be rounded up with an evening of exclusive dinner and dance at 5-star Grand Hotel in London.
The NDDIS was established to help Nigerians in Diaspora and other international business leaders and companies that are keen to expand their investment portfolios to Nigeria It was also set up to identify potential sources of Finance, Technology and Technical skills that could boost the promotion and stimulation of enterprise and the creation of jobs in wider Nigeria. In the past, The NDDIS initiative has been described as the biggest gathering of Nigerian business leaders and the best-organized investment summit in the Diaspora. NDDIS partners include UK Department for International Trade, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and work closely in partnership with the Nigerian High Commission, NIDCOM, Centre for African Studies, SOAS, AFFORD UK and several other partners.
