The ACIOE Public Relations and Government Relations team participated in the  29th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES29) which held recently at the Transcorp Hilton Congress Hall.

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was in attendance. In his speech he expressed the administration’s commitment to dialogue with the private sector to co-create socioeconomic initiatives and interventions to birth a $1 Trillion economy for Nigeria by 2026.

The event covered plenary sessions spanning across private sector investment in healthcare, Digital Public Infrastructure, and Direct Foreign Investment.

During Digital Policy and Regulatory breakout session on “The Path to a Digital Economy”, the Minister of Comm and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani remarked that the one key factor that is required to drive all these plans is the development of a Nigeria Stack – a digital stack that is open source and available to all public and private entities to build digital solutions tailored to Nigeria’s peculiarities. A key takeaway was the enormous opportunities for growth, and the ministry’s eagerness to partner with the private sector.

The Minister for Finance, and CBN Governors emphasized that their policies are to provide a platform for the delivery of the President’s eight-point agenda. The main thrust of the fiscal policies is to deliver economic growth, improve livelihood, and provide a level playing field for all, especially the youth. The Minister emphasized that the guidelines would increase productivity, tackle food inflation, and improve the agriculture value chain and last-mile delivery for farmers. The CBN governor stated that the CBN will implement clear, well-defined, and predictable policies to achieve foreign exchange stability and use monetary tools to manage the economy and achieve price stability primarily.

Private Sector investment in healthcare session examined the private sector’s role in meeting the healthcare needs of the teeming population, especially juxtaposed with the current challenges, including ‘japa’ syndrome, deteriorating infrastructure, low budgetary allocation. Attendees agreed that there are profitable investment opportunities, primarily in specialist care and PPP. Investing in PHC is challenging because of low returns; however, innovative methods can be devised to offer affordable yet profitable services. Emphasis was also placed on deepening health insurance.

FDI Ready: Delivering Investor Confidence session emphasized the need for the country to focus inward on domestic and diaspora investors because global competition for FDI is increasing hence it is critical to attracting FDI and Domestic Investors, the government needs to bolster investor confidence by tackling infrastructure (transportation and electricity), digital networks, and security.

Panelists agreed that the country’s readiness for foreign investors is indicative by its entry points, emphasizing the need for airport reforms exploring gas and renewal energy. The Ease of movement and Trade within African countries should be enhanced, and companies should take advantage AFCTA.