Turkish, Nigerian businessmen to hold B2B meetings in Abuja

A huge delegation of Turkish businessmen with President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan will be visiting Abuja to hold business-to-business meetings where Nigerian businessmen will have the opportunity to meet with their potential Turkish partners on Wednesday. The reciprocal promotion and protection of investments deal is among one of the agreements on the agenda.

Tony Ejinkeonye, the chairman of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that Turkish businessmen should expect a very warm welcome from friendly businessmen from all around Nigeria.

Nigeria, with a population of nearly 200 million is a candidate to become the strongest country in Africa. The United Nations expects the country to become the third-most crowded country in the world by 2050. The energy-rich country sells almost 45 percent of its oil to the U.S., and 80 percent of the country’s budget depends on oil sales.

Since Nigeria has no middle-income class, industrialization grows slowly and, after the discovery of oil, the country stopped investing in agriculture and some other sectors. Small- and medium-sized enterprises make up 85 percent of companies in Nigeria.

Lack of electricity is a big problem in Nigeria. The government aims to reach 10,000 megawatts of electricity production in 2016, but it is still too low for its 200 million people, but is an opportunity for investors.

Textiles is also a promising sector for Turkish manufacturers. Turkey sends 70,000 tons of textile products to Nigeria weekly, but this is mostly suitcase trading.

The construction industry, agricultural products and equipment, health services, education and furniture are also promising sectors. Even in some sectors like agriculture the Nigerian government does not ask for taxes for five years.

Over 2,600 Turkish businessmen have investments in Nigeria. The big challenges for Turkish investors are learning consumption habits of Nigerians and logistical problems.