The revival of Nigeria’s economy has gained momentum under the guidance of President Buhari’s ERGP programme; its ambitious targets yield results that seem to indicate that they will soon be superseded.
In spite of difficult times, Nigeria has been rated as the top 10 most improved economies in 2016/2017.
“Nigeria is a very resilient country in terms of economy,” states Mr. Venkatapathy Venkataraman Group MD at NIPCO.
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-35858" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/MAKING-NIGERIA-224x300.jpg" alt="" width="224" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/MAKING-NIGERIA-224x300.jpg 224w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/MAKING-NIGERIA-300x402.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/MAKING-NIGERIA.jpg 446w" sizes="(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px" />
This has been a result of the ERPG programme and its emphasis on industrialisation and diversification policies which boost capital inflows and encourages ease of doing business.
In November 2017 Godwin Emefiele Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN’s presented Nigeria’s economic outlook for 2018, predicting that national forex reserves will hit US$ 40bn in 2018. In introducing I&amp;E forex the improvement in the ease of doing business is guaranteed.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) played an extensive role in ensuring relative price stability and in managing the dearth of foreign exchange,” declares Mr Obeahon Ohiwerei, Managing Director at Keystone Bank.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/01/19/nigeria-needs-new-national-carrier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">READ: Why Nigeria needs a new national carrier</a>
“If the tight monetary policy continues, and the Central Bank continues to manage the liquidity that makes FX, the economy may grow more than the 1.8% projected,” claims Mr Abubakar Jimoh, CEO at Coronation Merchant Bank.
Although energy sales in Nigeria account for up to 80 percent of all government revenue and more than 90 percent of the country’s exports, Agriculture and ICT sectors have flourished, providing steady growth, employment and investment opportunities.
The ERGP’s shift towards becoming import dependent has been particularly successful in Agriculture. Proforce MD, Mr Ade Ogundeyin declares, “the government is serious and committed about made-in-Nigeria goods. They are saying that if it can be produced in Nigeria you don&#8217;t import it.”
The government&#8217;s intention to use telecoms and ICT for economic development and financial inclusion is auspicious for the industry. Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Mr Umar Danbatta states that “telecoms contribution to GDP is now close to 10% and has been contributing 1.4 trillion naira to the economy.”
Minister of Power, Works and Housing Hon. Fashola confirms the commitment to IT, “We&#8217;re installing more broadband and connectivity across the country,” which in turn enhances a definite entrepreneurial spirit at play amongst the people.
The government has made it extremely clear that it will be pouring funding into infrastructure. Minister of Power, Works and Housing Hon. Fashola declares, “the investment in infrastructure is driving the value chain of the economic diversification.”
The government’s plans to modernise and restructure the country’s public transport system has proved a great opportunity for investors and the economy.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/investment-guide/2017/05/01/nigeria-needs-industrialization-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">READ: Nigeria Needs Industrialization now</a>
Nigeria remains a highly appealing destination for investors. Mr Tunde Fowler, Chairman at FIRS elaborates, “Nigeria is an investor’s heaven with so much potential; from industry to agriculture to telecommunications. There&#8217;s so much room for expansion and the ease of doing business ensures that anyone who has a business, or who intends to start a business, will not have to face any bureaucracy, roadblocks or hindrance.
Nigeria’s government is determined to provide profound and long-term change in economic prosperity and stability; there remains little doubt that it is Nigeria’s destiny to uphold the title of largest economy in Africa for a long time yet.

LAGOS-cv2

FOCUS ON NIGERIA: Making Nigeria

From the deserts of Rajasthan to the dunes of Dubai and the corporate dens of Africa, Rakesh Wahi has weathered the vagaries of life and business. When only 23, while serving in the Indian Armed Forces, he was electrofied and almost died. That early experience taught him to chase his dreams – and fulfil them, no matter what.
Wahi, founder of the Johannesburg-based ABN Group, including CNBC Africa and FORBES AFRICA, has been a leader in media, IT, telecoms and education. Also based in Dubai as Chairman of CMA Investment Holdings, prior to moving there, Wahi had served in the Indian army for about nine years, and for distinguished services to the country in peacetime, was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal by the President of India in 1985.
Wahi has built companies in over 22 countries, employing a little over a 1,000 people. “Extremely passionate about education”, it is his vision to set up educational centers of excellence across Africa. His first university was launched in Ghana in 2013. He is also the co-founder of Murdoch University Dubai.
Here, Wahi talks about education, innovation, and his debut book, Be A Lion, which will be unveiled at the finale of the 2016 CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Awards in Johannesburg on November 11.
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<h4>What is Be A Lion about?</h4>
It’s about people and the impact they have had on me. I think this entire journey I have made is about how people have influenced me. First, on your way up, it’s your parents who are your greatest influencers as that’s where you get your identity from; and then, over a period of your lifetime, it’s the people who come into your life and make an impact, some positively, some otherwise. And that is the greatest experience you can talk about.
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<h4>You own multiple businesses; what new innovative industries are you possibly looking at?</h4>
When it comes to innovation, the key is to focus on how the world is changing and how things are going to impact our existing businesses. You have to constantly think about how your consumers are reacting to your products and services, and constantly change and that’s what innovation is about; it’s about reaching your customers in a more efficient manner.
With regard to the education sector, it’s changing rapidly. The way children consume education is very different from our time. The traditional classroom environment is changing.
Now, is learning going to be classroom-based? Are holograms going to be the future of education? Can you superimpose a teacher sitting in New York into classrooms in core campuses across the world, and have concurrent teaching?  A lot is changing.
Online is a very important aspect of where education is going, but I don’t believe that is the answer to it; I think the hybrid kind of education is what is eventually going to come around. Face-time with teachers is critical, the social engagement with peers is critical, so therefore a lot of things are going to remain constant with education, and the rest of it will evolve in terms of where technology and innovation can be used to make it more efficient.
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<h4>What are your continuing goals for education in Africa?</h4>
We are setting up centers of excellence. In West Africa, with Lancaster University, we are going to be setting up an engineering college with strong laboratory-based learning. In East Africa, our focus is energy and a vast part of it will require simulators and modern training equipment, and we will be partnering with industry to make sure we get the best of breed. We will roll out energy programs in the rest of Africa, and encourage students from across Africa, Asia and emerging markets to come to Rwanda for instance, where we are partnering with the University of Aberdeen for our energy programs.
In southern Africa, we are looking to partner with one of the Scottish universities to set up a center of excellence for health sciences, including medical and nursing colleges.
We don’t want to bring in technology from the yesteryears just because it is cheaper, or because we think Africa is still an emerging market, we want to actually leapfrog and bring in the latest technical innovations into these centers.
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<h4>CNBC Africa turns 10 next year; what are the innovations in the media business?</h4>
The entire way in which people are going to view television is changing, so are distribution channels. What remains consistent is there will always be demand for high-quality content. Our focus on creating quality content, which stays with the values of CNBC globally, is going to be one of our core competencies, but how you distribute it is going to actually evolve in the next 10 to 15 years, particularly in Africa.
The viewing habits of consumers are changing, they are no longer watching channels; they are watching programs, and able to customize their own grids. What is relevant is you will be able to watch what you want, at the time you want, in a scheduled manner.
On the one side, we have to make sure we create best and compelling content; on the other side, we partner with distribution platforms able to cater to the needs of the consumers at an affordable price.
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<h4>How welcoming is the African economy today of innovation?</h4>
At conferences and workshops, people talk about innovation, but I am not very sure they are actually geared up for it. The practical elements of bringing innovation into your workplace, whether in government or large corporates, is about a change in mindset, when you have to change processes and the way you look at things. It’s about driving change, and also, the commitment of leadership.
You do find there are some leaders in Africa bringing about that change, and the one that I would single out is President Paul Kagame, which is why Rwanda is making strides the way they are. He has the ability to visualize the future. They also have restrictions in terms of the size of the economy, but when you are hungry, you are able to adapt faster.
Kagame has brought a culture of change in his country, and it is very visible in the way you do business in Rwanda. You can set up a company in six to 24 hours if you have your documents in order. Rwanda gives you the opportunity to adapt quickly.
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<h4>How do you balance profit and philanthropy?</h4>
I think these are closely related. There have been great leaders like Mother Teresa who have devoted their time towards a cause. And she has touched the lives of our family too – she was very close to my mother, and has been to our home. But eventually, even to enable what she was doing, required money.
Over time, our own CSR and philanthropy as a family has changed. When Saloni [Wahi’s wife] and I were starting out in our life, even when we didn’t have much, we were always engaged in making a contribution towards causes.
Over the years, we found we needed to have a cause of our own, and after we set up the ABN Education Trust, we rationalized what made sense to us as a family. We focused on financial journalism, and also, on helping destitute women and the girl child, a cause Saloni is very passionate about.
Money is an important contribution but you also need to make time. Saloni and I work as a team. The heart sits with her, while I become the machinery for generating the income.
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<h4>Your most prized possession is…?</h4>
Family. I am not a material person. If I were to pack my life, I could pack it all into one suitcase.
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– Interviewed by Methil Renuka; for the full text of this interview, visit www.cnbcafrica.com; All net proceeds from the sales of Be A Lion, published by Penguin Random House, will go to charity and  the ABN Education Trust.

The Entrepreneur’s Entrepreneur

Economic gurus say Africa needs to industrialize, but Africa seems two jumps into the future and most of the initial public offerings (IPOs) for 2016-2017 will be technology, healthcare, telecoms and even securities exchanges.
Word on the streets of Tanzania’s coastal city is that the IPO of the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange is oversubscribed. The bourse aimed to raise TZS7.5 billion ($3.49 million) in the IPO which closed on June 3 and results were not available as we went to press. It is Africa’s third securities exchange to go through demutualization and self-listing – target date is July 12 for the listing. The stock exchanges in Nigeria and Ghana are among others in the process.
Ben Nice, editor of TMT Finance, says the high-tech rush continues: “Despite global volatility, regional macroeconomic uncertainty, and a rout on commodity prices, recent forecasts are predicting that the next 12 months could see a rebound with IPOs set to reach their highest levels in Africa since 2010, and several TMT (technology, media and telecommunications) companies looking likely to float in 2016 and 2017.”
Africa Internet Group (AIG) is said to be planning an IPO by 2017. It is parent of the Jumia e-commerce brand, present in 11 countries and linked to online and mobile consumer services such as Kaymu (shopping), hellofood (food delivery), Jovago (hotel booking), Vendito (classified ads), Lamudi (real estate), Everjobs (jobs) and Carmudi (vehicles). In April, AIG announced $85.4million equity investment from phone company Orange and in March $341.5 million from Goldman Sachs, MTN, AXA and Rocket Internet.
IHS Towers, based in Lagos and owner of over 23,300 mobile phone towers in Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia and Rwanda, is expected to float shares within 12 to 24 months. In December, Chief Executive and Founder, Issam Darwish,  a FORBES AFRICA cover in March 2014, said it would be “the biggest IPO ever in Africa”.
Orange Egypt, rebranded from Mobinil in March, is preparing an IPO for the Egyptian Exchange, with an offering of up to 20% of the shares. It has 33.4 million customers and is Egypt’s second biggest operator after Vodafone. In March, it announced Orange intended to invest $281.5 million into upgrading networks and services.
In May, private equity giant The Abraaj Group exited Tunisian pharmaceutical company Unité de fabrication de médicaments (UNIMED) via an IPO on the Bourse de Tunis, the first this year. The IPO valued UNIMED at $150 million and was 32.6 times over-subscribed, a bourse record. Since 2010, Abraaj has helped the group expand and in 2015 exports to more than 17 countries contributed 35% of sales.
“We recognized the healthcare opportunity in North Africa early on, in a market with a growing middle class, rising healthcare expenditure and expanding life expectancy,” says The Abraaj Group’s Managing Director Adel Goucha.
Shares in Cleopatra Hospital Company started trading on the Egyptian Exchange on June 2 after raising $40.5 million through an IPO which closed on May 30. The group, which owns four hospitals, had offered 40 million shares or 25% of the capital. The public offer was 28.6 times oversubscribed and the institutional offer 6.7 times, after roadshows programmed for Dubai, South Africa, Britain and the United States. It remains majority-owned by Care Healthcare, which includes Abraaj, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Germany’s DEG and France’s Proparco as shareholders. Abraaj, which invested in 2014, said the IPO would fund more growth.
Things were not going so well in Ghana, where Agricultural Development Bank (previously owned 52% by government and 48% by the Bank of Ghana) held an IPO between December and March and raised $115.5 million. Four unnamed investors snapped up 72% of the 75.5 million shares in the new offer but the bank’s board rejected all bids at GHS2 per share and the bank failed to raise the GHS100 million ($26 million) required. It was due to return money to applicants and ask Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to reopen the IPO.
In May, Barclays raised $876 million from selling a 12.2% stake in Barclays Africa Group (103 million shares at R126 each, a 6.5% discount to the market) in an oversubscribed offer with the Public Investment Corporation said to be a big buyer. Barclays is considering selling its remaining 50.1% stake to a strategic investor. Former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond and his Atlas Mara group may be a buyer.

Tag: Telecoms

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

FOCUS ON NIGERIA: Making Nigeria

The Entrepreneur’s Entrepreneur

Industrialization Ditched For Tech