The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, has said what Nigeria needs most to attract foreign investors into the country is trust.
OsunDailyNG reports that Oduwole described Nigeria as a beautiful country, filled with so many opportunities that have to be maximized to boost its economy.
She stated this in an interview with Arise News at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 session in Davos, Switzerland.
“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,” she said.
The Minister further highlighted Nigeria’s efforts to create a conducive environment which has led to the development of unicorns of the country’s origin.
“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,” she stated
The Trade Minister explained that the target of Nigeria’s delegation, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the WEF session was to market Nigeria to the world. She also talked about Nigeria’s desire to harness the potential of outsourcing jobs for the citizens.
“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,” she explained.
Oduwole emphasized the need for the country to build trust. She also stressed the need for policy regulations that guarantee a conducive business environment for investors.
The Minister disclosed that the federal government would be watching the body language of President Donald Trump as it concerns Nigeria’s trade with the United States.
“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.
“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,” she added.
