Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo will on
October 20, 2014 and September 8, 2015, lead global investors and African
leaders to London and Abuja respectively as they attend the Global African
Investment Summit. The event is one of the biggest gatherings of investors in
Africa and is designed to showcase new business opportunities and attract
serious investors to the continent.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, Chief Obasanjo described
Africa as one of the greatest investment destinations with business interests
coming from different parts of the world. “For the first time, the world is interested
in Africa. This is a unique opportunity for us and it will not be forever. Africa
must take advantage of this opportunity to attract as much investment as
possible so as to transform its economy. The Global African Investment Summit
was a platform to showcase core investment potentials in Africa for the benefit
of the African people.”
Quoting the International Energy Agency, He said Africa will
require more than $3000 billion in investment to achieve universal electricity
access by 2030. “The 2015 Global African Investment Summit in Abuja is taking a
leading role by bringing together a wide range of forward thinking companies
with the vision to make smart investment in the energy sector in Africa”.
He lauded the decision to kick off the summit in London because
the city remains the world centre for various business activities.
The former president added that the nation and the continent
have had several summits in the past with little or no progress made. He noted that the world is not broke for
investment and that “what they want is trust”. He said African leaders must
create a conducive atmosphere that will attract direct foreign investments for
economic development and sustenance.
Paul Sinclair, Director of DMG Events said the success
recorded in 2014 edition in London motivated the organization to partner with
the Government of Nigeria to replicate it in the country come 2015. He said the
summit unlike other summit will put “you in front of fund managers and banks in
excess of USD 235 Billion and 75 bankable project seeking investment”. He explained
that the company is partnering with ECOWAS, the Nigerian Investment and
Promotion Council, the Nigeria Economic Summit Group and others to make the
event a success.
He described the Global African Investment Summit as the
only African Summit that acts as a platform for transaction. He said: “while
the world has huge access to finance, the summit will focus on bankable
projects to active investors looking to execute on transaction in Sub Saharan
Africa”.
