By Amechi Ogbonna
Gernot Hebestreit, the global leader of Grant Thornton, Africa’s 5th largest accounting firm, at the weekend said Nigeria and the entire African continent would in the next five to 10 years emerge as the nucleus of global economic growth despite the current crisis they are facing with declining commodity prices.
Hebestreit who spoke at a news conference in Lagos to mark the 2016 African regional meeting of Grant Thornton International Limited, which ends today, stated that within the 10-year time frame, global players wishing to compete actively in the world must have strong presence in Africa without which they would not be able to achieve remarkable success in their industries.
“In five – 10 years from now, Africa would be the growth engine of the world. And that means that if you want to participate in global business, you must be in Africa. Already, African countries are beginning to create the right business environment, including Nigeria, which is the largest economy of the continent. We see a lot of talents and creativity in Nigeria, especially in the telecommunications and entertainment industries,” he said.
While acknowledging that Nigeria was still going through some turbulent economic times, he expressed confidence that with the tenacity of purpose of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, the country would come off it stronger. Hebestreit, however, advised African countries having issues with corruption to put in place strong and enforceable rules that would restrain people from looting and stealing from the public treasury. According to him, leadership is important in recovering looted fund.
On how to curb corruption, he advised African leaders to, “put good processes in place and deploy people with the right values in issues of internal control and accountability. Essentially, we need global principles for doing business in Africa,” he said.
Also commenting on the role Grant Thornton can play to reinvigorate Nigeria’s wobbly economy, he said, “we see Nigeria as a leader in Africa with a growing market and strong consumer base. Our role is to help restore the confidence of the global business community about the potentials of the economy particularly in the capital market where so much sale-offs have taken place due to uncertainties that accompanied falling commodity prices.
Grant Thornton is one of the world’s leading organisations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms that help dynamic entities unlock their potentials for growth through the provision of meaningful and actionable advice on a broad range of sectors.
Meanwhile, Executive Chairman of Grant Thornton Nigeria, Peter Orizu, has said the meeting hosted in Nigeria would enable its clients in the country meet and interact with some global leaders of GTIL from Europe and America, among other countries.