Norway has been a silent operator in Nigeria, though its business ventures date back to the 1890s when it started stock fish export to the country.
Emma Emeozor
Determined to expand the business frontiers between Nigeria and Norway through people-to-people relations, businessmen and professionals from both countries converged on Lagos recently to discuss investment opportunities and incentives in both countries.
The one-day seminar, tagged “Doing business with Norway,” created a platform for identifying some of the factors that impede development in Nigeria. Norway has been a silent operator in Nigeria, though its business ventures date back to the 1890s when it started stock fish export to the country. It has also been active in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Now, it has stepped up moves to expand trade relations with Nigeria on all fronts, which has excited Nigerians who foresee good prospects ahead.
The seminar organised by the Norwegian Embassy, the Nigerian Norwegian Chamber of Commerce and Innovation Norway, in partnership with the Norwegian Seafood Council, was apt as it held at a time when the government of Nigeria is committed to diversification of its economy as a key approach to reducing dependence on oil.
The seminar covered a range of business areas: Energy: From oil to gas, and beyond; Shipping and Maritime: Tapping the potential; Nigeria, a market for Norwegian seafood; Developing a Sustainable Aquaculture – The Norwegian Story; Facilitating investment: Sharing experiences, innovations and success stories and Evolving trade and investment landscape – Opportunities and challenges.
Participants agreed that there was need for synergy between Nigerian businessmen and their Norwegian counterparts in order to buoy up trade relations between the two countries. Various presentations at the seminar drew a glaring contrast between Nigeria’s business environment and that of Norway. There were clear signs that Norway has a more friendly environment that encourages development and growth.
In Norway, small and medium entrepreneurs receive support and assistance from government and the financial institutions have flexible loan schemes that do not scare away entrepreneurs.
This is not the case in Nigeria, where conditions for giving loans to entrepreneurs by financial institutions are considered harsh. Also, in Nigeria, government policies remain a subject of concern to the business community.
It was against this backdrop that a cross-section of Nigerian participants at the seminar argued that the federal and state governments as well as financial institutions have failed to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.
For example, the difficulty to access funds meant for development of critical sectors of the economy was highlighted when the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) was put on the table for discussion.
Norfund is used to support agribusinesses “through contributing to a syndicated loan” to Access Bank. Nigerians are constrained by the stiff conditions they have to satisfy before they are granted loans to execute genuine time-bound projects.
The chairman of the Nigerian Norway Chambers of Commerce (NNCC), Chijioke Igwe, put the problem in perspective when he drew the attention of Daily Sun to how passionate the participants were when the issue of accessing funds from banks was being discussed. He noted that, as a nation, Nigeria was not yet prepared for development: “We are not really ready for development because we have not prepared ourselves appropriately. The right regulatory environment is not there. Most of the businesses are not properly structured, so it is very difficult to get access to funds to build companies from small to medium and big companies.”
In his remarks, the group head, project and structured finance, Access Bank, Mr. Seun Bamidele Olufeko, insisted that Norfund was available to Nigerian entrepreneurs, and that those the fund was meant for were not applying as expected. Perhaps they were either ignorant of the availability of the fund or the process of utilising it. Interestingly, Olufeko’s remarks were taken with a pinch of salt.
In a chat with Daily Sun, the Norwegian ambassador to Nigeria, Jens-Petter Kjemprud, described Norfund as “a commercial actor.” He was quick to lend support to Olufeko’s position that Norfund should be seen as a success story. The envoy believes that Norfund “makes the banks stronger” just as “it makes it possible for them to give more loans to small and medium-size enterprises and other Nigerian companies.”
Kjemprud said that, besides Norfund, the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund is also available to the business community and can be accessed through Guaranty Trust Bank. He explained that Norfund is not a development agency, “it puts more money into the Nigerian banking system and gives it credibility.”
Though several investment opportunities were discussed at the seminar, special focus was on the maritime industry, with emphasis on aquaculture and what Nigeria stands to benefit from Norway’s experience. Participants observed that there is need to attract foreign investors to develop the maritime sector in line with the Federal Government’s diversification policy.
But why the special focus on maritime? Consul-general of Norway and CEO of Marine Platforms, Taofik Adegbite, explained that, “Oil plunge has challenged the government to take diversification serious. Maritime is a virgin land and we hope to attract investors to the area. We have the fisheries not developed.” He told participants that the opportunities in the sector were immense and diverse.
Director, Nigeria Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, Dr. Parcy Ochuko Obatola, said “marine areas are seen as one of the last relatively unexplored resources and frontiers for industrial development.”
According to her, Nigeria’s fisheries resources, besides providing enough for domestic consumption, are in commercial quantity but are not being tapped. She said Nigeria was importing fish that were even found in its waters, adding that fishes found in Nigerian waters were of high quality and taste and Nigeria could compete favourably with other countries that are making waves in the fishing industry. In addition, the development of fisheries resources of Nigeria would help to create employment and, more importantly, lift the country’s economy.
Nigeria imports sardines but some experts have argued that Nigeria can produce and export sardines in commercial quantity too. Obatola lamented the inability of Nigeria to fully explore the sector, whereas global trade in fisheries “is in billions of dollars.”
While giving a catalogue of fishes found in Nigerian waters, she advised that fish farmers and government agencies should go beyond offshore water into deep water, as it is done in other countries, including Ghana. Unknown to many, deep water is rich with ocean resources, she said. It instructive to note that fishery business in Nigeria is faced with the challenge of preservation. This brings to fore the question of poor electricity across the country. Besides fisheries resources, Oba- tola also said the sector offers opportunities in maritime transportation, sports and tourism.
Meanwhile, The Nigerian government has expressed concern over the illegal activities in its water, a development that gives credence to Obatola’s position on the abundance of fisheries resources in Nigeria. The need to establish maritime banks in Nigeria was also highlighted. Participants said this would attract investors to the sector. Though it was acknowledged that there was a government-sponsored maritime school in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, a call was made for the involvement of the private sector to establish maritime institutions to complement government’s effort. This, participants said, would help to boost the sector, while addressing the problem of youth unemployment. A call was also made for the decongestion of the country’s ports, just as it was observed that ports infrastructures were dilapidated.
Africa manager, maritime and offshore, DNV GL, Rob Williams, had earlier expressed concern over the large population of unemployed youth in Nigeria, noting that the country’s youth seem not focused on development issues. Rather, they were seen busy with mobile handsets, either texting or watching films.
As at June 5, 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics said 7.9 million Nigerian youth aged 15 to 34 were unemployed. The report said, “58.1 per cent of youth within this age bracket who are currently working are underemployed.”
Williams wants the youths to be properly engaged through vocational training, stressing that it is the youths that can accelerate the development process of the country. He was emphatic when he said the population of the youth in Nigeria, if properly engaged, could make positive impact on the growth of the country.
Contributing, regional director for Middle East and Africa, Innovation Norway, Ole-Johan Sandvaer, identified technology, globalisation and demography as the forces behind the development of aquaculture industry. While emphasising the role of education and training in the sector, he said, “Norwegian companies are small but there are opportunities everywhere. Nigeria could be the destination for Norwegian fish farmers.”
He was also confident when he said, “the Norwegian aquaculture model has worked well; so it will work for Nigeria. He said research in fisheries and development of vaccines made Norway successful in the sector, adding that aquaculture shows how Norway is using the offshore industrial sector to grow.
But how important was the seminar to the organisers? Kjemprud told Daily Sun, “We see today’s event as a teaser on the topics. We want to go deeper into some of the topics (issues) at a later event. We believe this type of seminar is about getting people, establishing contacts, showing what are the different opportunities in Norway for Nigerian companies to tap. We are trying to focus on some of the success stories to make them examples on how to do business.”
On his part, Igwe said though NNCC is a non-profit body, “We will have seminars of this type always, make advocacy approaches to government to make them understand how their policies are affecting businesses and also create opportunities for business to business interactions.”
He believes that the seminar will encourage more Nigerians to go into aquaculture business. Adegbite had earlier observed that “the Nigerian environment has all possibilities but the challenge we have is for the government to take the right path. The problem is about putting the right policies and institutions in place.”
Citing the success story of the private sector-driven telecommunications industry, Adegbite said it was important “to fight the problem of ignorance because, when certain decisions are taken, it is not because of any deliberate act” on the part of policymakers.
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