Agriculture and the ICT sectors are areas that have remained resilient in difficult times providing steady growth, employment, and opening up investment opportunities, a recent report by the global research and consultancy firm, Oxford Business Group (OBG) has revealed.
Nigeria has huge potentials in agriculture and other sectors such as ICT but remains heavily oil-dependent. Energy sales account for up to 80% of all government revenue and more than 90% of the country’s exports.
The report tagged: Nigeria 2017 maintains that with low oil prices that have weighed heavily on Nigeria’s economy, the government’s ambitious, medium-term strategy for recovery was already beginning to yield results.
OBG’s publication examined in detail the areas of the economy that have remained resilient in difficult times, identifying agriculture, which has become a major employer and is benefiting from an ease in lending constraints.
It also identified Nigeria’s ICT industry, which has bucked broader economic trends by performing strongly in recent years, as another focus. OBG examines the key part that a regulatory overhaul should play in helping to tackle the challenges that the sector faces ahead of the implementation of new infrastructure.
Also considered is the government’s far-reaching plans to modernise the country’s long-neglected public transport system, looking at the prospects that the project pipeline will signal for investors and the difficulties in bringing the private sector on board for ventures.
Despite the bright prospects shown in the report, it however outlined the challenges that Nigeria’s debt burden presents. The Report urges government to explore possibilities of relaxing capital controls, a move which will be instrumental in boosting foreign exchange liquidity, thereby helping to address long-running issues relating to exchange rates.
Commenting after the launch, OBG’s Editor-in-Chief, Oliver Cornock, said “Nigeria remains an appealing destination for investors and the fact that growth has begun to pick up following a slower period for the economy will provide the country with a welcome boost, as its efforts to develop and diversify the economy gain pace.”
In his comments, OBG’s Managing Editor for Africa Robert Tashima agreed that while Nigeria had experienced a challenging couple of years, it appeared to have turned a corner, emerging from recession with a floating currency and more bullish expectations for the coming 12 months.
“There are still a number of hurdles that need to be cleared – ranging from issues such as power shortages and underemployment to limited foreign exchange revenues – but the economy is clearly gathering momentum,” he said.
The Report marks the culmination of more than six months of field research by a team of analysts from Oxford Business Group. The publication assesses trends and developments across the economy, including those in macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and others. The Report: Nigeria 2017 is available in print and online.
