When Nigeria’s economy was flourishing a decade ago, the country earned a reputation as one of the most expensive places in the world for construction undertakings. Strong demand for expertise, labour and supplies for major hydrocarbons projects pushed up prices and ensured hefty profits for construction firms. Yet while it may have slowed activity, even the country’s recent recession has…
In January 2017 Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company, announced a shift in its strategy for Africa. “The bedrock of our business is really where the bulk of the population resides,” John Martin Miller, the company’s senior vice-president for Africa, Asia and Oceania, told international media in Lagos. “For the next five to 10 years [the populations of sub-Saharan…
Nigeria’s television and broadcasting industry is about to undergo dramatic changes, as the government oversees the process of migrating broadcasting from analogue to digital. While several countries in Africa have switched off their analogue signal, Nigeria is set to become the first country on the continent to transition from analogue to free digital TV. This presents authorities with significant…
A number of new records set by Nollywood – the colloquial name for Nigeria’s domestic film industry – brought 2016 to a successful close. In the last two weeks of the year The Wedding Party, a locally produced film, broke records for the biggest opening weekend, the biggest week and the highest box office sales total for a Nigerian film, eclipsing the previous record of N178m ($629,000).…
If Nigeria is to come to grips with its high youth unemployment rate, which reached 24% in mid-2016, the development of skills and core competencies in fields relevant to the country’s development is crucial. In recent years the government and private sector have increasingly cooperated on vocational training, but higher funding and a long-term policy are needed. Slim Pickings During the…
In a developing country with high rates of both communicable and non-communicable diseases, the provision of primary health care (PH) is imperative. PH focuses on the treatment and prevention of the most common diseases – such as malaria and tuberculosis – as well as maternal and child care, health education and the provision of essential drugs. PH clinics do not require particularly expensive…
Nigeria continues to generate a fair share of private equity transactions in Africa, especially in telecommunications, health, insurance, agriculture, financial, manufacturing, retail and real estate. The country’s evolution as a preferred destination for private equity investment in sub-Sahara Africa is largely due to its growing population and rising middle class, as well as the ongoing…
Many governments around the world have taken recourse to declaring periods of tax amnesty on the premise that it would encourage taxpayers to come forward and voluntarily declare their taxable income and ultimately drive revenue generation. In recent years, Nigeria has been beset with the herculean task of finding alternative revenue sources in the wake of dwindling global oil prices and the…
With Africa’s largest economy and its biggest population, Nigeria is the continent’s heavyweight. The country has been blessed with resource-rich lands, areas of great agricultural fertility and favourable demographics, but it has also had its fair share of challenges, ranging from poor infrastructure, secessionist movements, military coups and religious violence. However, a successful presidential…
Following a peaceful handover of power – the country’s first – in 2015, Nigeria is currently enjoying its longest uninterrupted period of democratic rule. The government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari – who also served as head of state briefly in the 1980s – was elected in part as a result of a campaign that promised a zero-tolerance approach to both corruption and the militant…
