Nigeria has enormous resources, most of which are yet to be fully exploited. These resources include but are not limited to minerals, agricultural and human resources. With a population of about 180 million people, the Nigerian market potential stretches into the growing West African sub-region and offers the market in sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of this, the government has put in place policies and programs that guarantee a free market economy; administrative and bureaucratic procedures have been greatly streamlined, with a dynamic private sector which has assured greater responsibilities under the new economic environment.
According to www.doingbusiness.org, economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–190. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
It is worthy of note that the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the 3rd October 2017, launched the second National Action Plan on Ease of Doing Business as part of the administration’s medium term: “Economic Growth and Recovery Plan” (EGRP) to build a globally competitive economy.
The Vice President had earlier presided over an expanded meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) in Abuja.
A statement by PEBEC Secretary and Senior Special Assistant (SSA) Industry, Trade & Investment in the office of the Vice President, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, on the 3rd October, said PEBEC had approved a second 60-day National Action Plan know as (NAP 2.0) to drive reforms aimed at making Nigeria a progressively easier place to do business.
The said program (NAP 2.0) will run from October 3 to December 1, 2017, and is expected to further reduce the challenges faced by SMEs when getting credit, paying taxes, or moving goods across the country, amongst others, by removing critical bottlenecks and bureaucratic constraints to doing business in Nigeria.
The Federal Government is moving ahead with its plan to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria as it recently slashed the period required for the perfection of import and export documentation papers from two weeks to between seven and ten days for export documentation and a maximum of eight days for import documentation. These new measures are a direct response to demands from many quarters for government to ease the nation’s business environment.
The above structural reforms are meant to improve the countries’ economic outcomes thereby making it easier for local businesses and foreign investment participation.
From the action policies and programmes of the current administration in creating a conducive environment for potential investors, investing in the Nigeria business economy which was a tedious task has become a thing of the past.
The long and tiring wait of getting a business permit, certificate of incorporation, export and import documents, visa applications and many more are over. From all these mentioned above, it is safe to say that doing business in Nigeria for local and foreign investors has been made effortless.
Some potential foreign investors are still in doubt will others have been exploring the opportunities therein. Invest in Nigeria today and discover a world of opportunities.
For more information on this article, or for consultation and advice, email: askme@immigrationlawyernigeria.com or call (+234)8034869295.
0+
