Larive International and Naijalink (based in Lagos, Nigeria), both emerging market entry specialists, have agreed to establish a strategic partnership in Nigeria where Naijalink will become the representative of the Larive Group.
Through the strategic collaboration with Naijalink, Larive can service its clients with realizing market entry and further growth in Nigeria. Naijalink has a team of local consultants that have been educated in the United Sates and Europe. They combine sector expertise (incl. agri-food, clean tech, fintech and health science) with practical local advice in order to deliver low risk and cost-effective solutions, enabling companies to reach their full potential in a challenging country such as Nigeria.
On January 1st, Naijalink’s CEO Thessa Brongers-Bagu signed off the new partnership with Wouter van Vliet, Director of Larive International. Wouter sees this partnership as a strategic milestone for Larive’s activities in West-Africa.
‘Apart from the fact that Nigeria alone offers enormous potential for our clients, the country also functions as the hub for neighboring countries. Nigeria is quickly recovering from a deep economic crisis. New businesses that focus on local production are increasingly established, driven by the existing import restrictions. We see especially opportunities in the agri-food sector. With a local team, based in Lagos, we are now able to further support our clients with business intelligence, market entry & growth and implementation of their business in Nigeria and Western-Africa.’.
CEO Thessa Brongers-Bagu is living and working in Nigeria for over 11 years. She wrote an economic update about the opportunities in Africa’s largest economy:
Economic update & opportunities for Dutch companies:
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, was never a business destination to ignore, if only because one of every 40 people in the world lives in this country. Now emerging out of a recession brought on by a global oil price slump, Nigeria is set to grow 2.1% in 2018 –a figure recently revised upwards by the IMF. Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital on the coast, outperforms the rest of the country and is Africa’s 5th largest economy in its own right. International companies who are new to the market will find enough opportunities in Lagos alone. With an estimated 23 million inhabitants it is more populous than the Netherlands.
Nigeria is highly import dependent; a situation it seeks to reverse in the light of the significant recent depreciation of the local currency. There is a special focus on the agro-food industry as the Nigerian government reports a food import bill of $5.6bn per annum while the country has all the natural resources to be self-sufficient. As a result, businesses in the country need expertise and inputs that can take entire value chains in the sector to a new level. While noting that the average Nigerian consumer is very price sensitive, developments in agriculture (fisheries, dairy, livestock and crop farming), as well as local manufacturing of (mass)food products all create opportunities for Dutch agro-food exporters and investors.
Other notable opportunities exist in renewable energy and waste & water management –all growing at double digits even during the recession. ICT can’t be forgotten; in 2017 the country received over $1bn in FDI in the digital industry, most notably in e-commerce and payment platforms. Over 90% of all technologies are still imported.
As always, exploring new markets starts with proper understanding. Therefore, it is critical to first understand Nigeria’s current state of affairs, prior to investing or doing business.
Read the blog: Three risks to avoid when exploring Nigeria’s business potential
This incredibly dynamic country is developing rapidly and opportunities exist essentially in every sector. However, while Nigeria jumped 24 places in the ‘ease of doing business index’, it can still be challenging and it requires a good approach to capitalize on any of the opportunities in this ‘Giant of Africa’.
[av_button label=’Do you want to extend your business in the Nigerian market? Contact Niels Verlinden’ link=’manually,https://www.larive.com/teammember/niels/’ link_target=’_blank’ size=’small’ position=’left’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ color=’theme-color’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ custom_class=” admin_preview_bg=”]
