Following liquidity crisis in the nation’s capital market which is negatively impacting on the both production and service sectors of the economy, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has said that the upcoming World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa will provide an avenue for companies in Nigeria to seek for funding.
Chief Executive Officer NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, who stated this at a Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs) session ahead of the WEF on Africa, slated to take place between May 9th and 11th 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia said the conference would help to enhance the growth of the capital market.
Onyema who noted that financing was the number one problem in Africa, especially for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), said the Exchange under his leadership wants to position the capital market to be able to provide an avenue for companies of all sizes to have access to very reasonably priced financing at the forum.
“Nigeria has the population and we actually command a very strong marketing bloc. We also have the expertise in terms of the banking industry and we are looking at how we can use that to our advantage at the WEF in May. The outcome will be a strong Nigerian agenda at the forum,” he said.
Head of Middle East and Africa Memberships, WEF, Mr. Grant McKibbin, noted that the event provided the international body the opportunity to meet its members and other business leaders in Africa, with a view to looking at issues that would be addressed at the world WEF for Africa.
He described Nigeria as the biggest country and economy in Africa, saying that the WEF believed it was important “to have Nigerian voice in our activities.”
“I am not convinced that Africa is attracting enough Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). I think there is a lot of misconception about Africa. People don’t know Africa, they hear about the bad stories in Africa, but don’t hear the success stories. International investors want to know about how to invest in Africa and the strategies of investing in the continent. So, Africa has a perception problem, as well as a branding problem.
“And that is what happens to Nigeria as well. We only hear about the bad things that happen in Nigeria, but the reality is that there is a lot of potentials in Nigeria,” the WEF official added.