London, Jan. 22, 2020 (AltAfrica)-Nigerian government and its UK counterpart have signed business deals worth over ₦153.4billion during the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit held in London.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who led a delegation from Nigeria, held meetings with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

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In a statement on the outcome of the summit, the UK said “deals worth £324 million (over ₦153.4billion) were announced by Savannah (gas assets); Low Energy Designs (street lighting); Trilliant (smart metering for Abuja DisCo); and Tex ATC (airport control room towers).

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The UK also announced that significant commitments will be shown to support Nigeria by developing an enabling environment to turbo-charge economic growth, including helping address land issues for investment; strengthening and improving the finance sector; helping entrepreneurs secure access to finance; preparing the ground for the launch in the UK of naira-denominated bonds – “Jollof Bonds”; and developing the tech sector.

The statement said the UK government, through the Department for International Trade (DIT), will provide an Investment Promotion Programme worth ₦13.1billion for Nigeria and South Africa to stimulate Foreign Direct Investment and facilitate technology and knowledge transfer.

Other benefits announced at the summit include the newly launched £55m (₦26billion), Land Transformation Facility, a £320m (₦152billion) UK Financial Sector Deepening Platform currently running in 45 Africa countries, including Nigeria.

It added that the UK government will invest up to £45m in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa to support inclusive connectivity and digital literacy, build cybersecurity capacity, and establish Tech Hubs to grow the digital economy.

Source