La Nigeria è il secondo partner commerciale italiano in Africa (dopo il Sud Africa) ed è quindi un Paese che riveste una certa importanza per le nostre produzioni nel “Continente Nero”. Per questa ragione abbiamo deciso di intervistare l’Ambasciatore Nigeriano in Italiano, Margaret Bisi Meshioye, che ci ha illustrato (segue intervista in lingua inglese) quali sono le relazioni fra Roma e Lagos.

Nigeria is the principle business partner of Italy after South Africa. What is the key of this economic relation?

The key to the economic relationship between Nigeria and Italy is trade and investments. Principal in this regard is the presence of the Italian entity, ENI, in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. Similarly, there are hundreds of Italian firms in the engineering, technical and construction sub-sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Examples are SAIPEM, TREVI, GITTO Construction, etc. Equally important is the wide variety of products imported from Italy by Nigeria including, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, automobiles, construction materials, chemicals, footwear/clothing and fashion accessories, food products and beverages, etc. On the other hand, Italy essentially imports from Nigeria crude oil, LNG and agricultural commodities.

Which Italian market is more interesting for Nigerian consumers?

Nigerians are mostly interested in the Italian markets for footwear (shoes), leather, ceramics, clothing and fashion accessories, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages and the business relationship between Italy and Nigeria is generally expected to remain robust and grow in the medium to long term.

What is the program of public and private part of industry for developing Italian export?

Italian exports to Nigeria are not driven by any (Nigerian) program of public and private part of industry. But the Italian government with the cooperation of both public and private entrepreneurs do organize programs and meetings to sell their products to the Nigerian market.

What is your suggestion to Italian business people for investing in Nigeria and which sector?

The suggestion to Italian business for investments in Nigeria is that they undertake formal and informal visits to Nigeria; do an in-depth appraisal of the Nigerian market, industry, culture and people. Thereafter, develop partnerships with local Nigerian business for mutually benficial relations. I will advise them to focus on agriculture and food processing, hosting and shelter development, as well as, pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.

One of the common problems of doing business in Nigeria is “financial access”. What is the program of the Nigerian government for resolving this problem?

Among other statutory and policy measures, the Nigerian government has set up the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) to facilitate and assist investors in the Nigerian economy, including in the matter of “financial access”. Additionally, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has a numbers of programs geared towards providing investors with incentives to invest in the Nigerian economy.

Per approfondire la conoscenza dell’economia del Paese, cliccare qui. Per avere qualche info in più sulla business etiquette invece cliccare qui.

Fonte: a cura della Redazione di Exportiamo, redazione@exportiamo.it

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