Africa is not just the fastest-growing continent on the planet, but it is also the only place in the planet where more women than males choose to become entrepreneurs, thanks to a young quickly urbanizing population.
ABUNDANT RESOURCES
Nigeria has vast natural resources, most of which have yet to be fully utilized. The solid minerals sector offers tremendous investment potential. Coal, tin, iron ore, and other mineral resources are available. Groundnuts, palm oil, cocoa, and coconut are examples of agricultural products. Nigeria also has a thriving leather and textile industry, as well as being one of the continent’s top oil producers, attracting massive foreign investment.
LARGE CONSUMER MARKET
Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country (one in every six Africans is a Nigerian) and the world’s seventh most populous country, with a population of about 155 million people. The demographic structure, with 75% of the population under 30 years old and an outstanding geographical distribution of eight “anchor” cities, each with a population of over 1 million, suggests a robust future growth picture.
POLITICAL STABILITY
Nigeria has a stable political climate, despite frequent crises. Legislative, gubernatorial, and presidential elections were held in April 2011 by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Despite their flaws, the elections were Nigeria’s most successful since its restoration to multiparty democracy in 1999, and they reversed a downward trend of successively problematic elections. Nigeria is becoming seen as the driving force behind a massive African market by the international business community.
FREE MARKET ECONOMY
Nigeria’s government has developed an environment that is conducive to business and industrial operations. Procedures in the administrative and bureaucratic realms have been considerably simplified. The government has implemented laws and programs to ensure that a free market economy exists. It has sold its investment in eight oil service firms and privatized the single government-owned petrochemical company in recent years. It revoked a number of dubious contracts issued by previous administrations.
ATTRACTIVE INCENTIVES
The Nigerian government set up a comprehensive package of investment incentives to encourage domestic and international private sector investment. The Companies Income Tax Act has been changed to attract future and present investors and entrepreneurs; pioneer status grants sectors a five-year tax holiday; and research and development receives tax reduction.
FAST-GROWING ECONOMY
Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a robust and consistent 6.9% in 2011 compared to 8.1 percent in 2010. In 2012, it is expected to expand by 6.7 percent. Nigeria’s growth is predicted to reach double digits between 2012 and 2015, thanks to a series of recent legislative efforts aimed at transforming the country’s agriculture industry. This would put it ahead of two other emerging markets, Brazil and Russia, and only behind India and China in terms of growth.
STRONG BANKING AND FINANCIAL SECTOR
Nigeria made substantial efforts to enhance its banking industry in 2009. These revisions followed a massive banking overhaul in 2006, which saw the number of banks cut and the minimum capital requirement for banks raised. The retail, corporate, and online banking markets are all fiercely competitive, whereas the home loan industry is somewhat competitive. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has been performing well since 1999.
IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE
Nigeria’s physical and industrial infrastructure, such as transportation, communications, energy, and water supply, is quickly developing. Like state governments, in particular, invest their portions of increased government revenue allocations, extensive road repairs, and new building activities are gradually executed. International flights are currently served by four Nigerian airports: Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Abuja, as well as various domestic private Nigerian airlines.
LUCRATIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET
Nigeria also has Africa’s most profitable telecoms industry, which is developing at twice the rate of the continent. The explosive growth of industries like the mobile telecommunications market, as well as the unprecedented success of international corporations like South Africa’s MTN, have shown that potential can be realized.
FUTURE ECONOMIC POWER
Nigeria was named one of 11 Global Growth Generators by Citigroup in 2011, which are economies that have been identified as sources of growth potential and successful investment prospects. Nigeria was named one of Goldman Sachs’ N11 countries in 2005, states having a strong potential to become the world’s largest economies in the twenty-first century, alongside the BRICS.