German investors to partner Nigerians on deepening investment climate

German companies operating in Nigeria have said partnering Nigerian investors will boost the confidence they need in deepening their investments in Nigeria.

Marc Lucassen, head, Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, who disclosed that the German companies in Nigeria, generate as much as $1 billion in turnover annually, said “What we are interested in is to partner Nigeria investors and to co-finance Nigeria investments because this is what will give German investors the confidence that Nigeria business community believes in their own economy.”

Speaking ahead of the 7th edition of German-Nigeria Business Forum scheduled to hold in Lagos on June 20th to 21st, 2018, Lucassen said that Nigeria is largest German trade partner with trade volume between both countries currently at 2.5 billion euros.

“The sure proof of our presence here in contrast to our competitors is that we are covering all sectors from finance, infrastructure, energy, automobile to information communication technology. So, the German industries are present here in all sectors and our target is to scale up this presence,” said Lucassen.

According to the head delegate, German companies currently operating in Nigeria total 85. He said these companies have created about 10,000 direct employment in Nigeria and hoped to up-scale their investments from the current levels.

He said that the two day event with the theme: “Leveraging Partnership for Economic Growth”, will focus on key sectors such as agriculture and food processing; energy with a special focus on on renewable energy and energy efficiency; infrastructure, access to finance, digitisation and start-ups as well as technical vocational education and training, adding that the sectors are part of the ones the federal government has pin-pointed in its diversification agenda.