Business
Swedish Investors Storm Nigeria …Seek Opportunities In Power, Mining
A delegation of Swedish
companies has stormed the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance, looking for investment opportunities in critical sectors of the economy.
The delegation, led by Swedish Minister of Trade and European Union Affairs, Mrs Ann Linde, said it came to pave way for the country to benefit from the array of investors interested in long-term investments in the country.
She said the investors indicated interest in providing ICT solution, power, financial services, transport, mining and health services in Nigeria.
The list of the Swedish businesses involved are Ignitia, Okpabi Finance, Hemocue, and financial institutions Swedish Exports Credit Guarantee Board and SEK Swebank.
“The delegation wants to know what measures the government is taking to tackle the current recession and what are its long term plans for financial stability in the economy.
“A brief presentation on Nigeria’s challenges and general information will boost investor confidence,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, said that the government was determined to quickly revamp the economy.
He said that the main strategy to do this and take the country out of recession was diversification of the economy.
“Despite the shock of the dwindling oil prices, the Federal Government is determined to absorb the shock of oil prices.
“We are currently focused on diversifying the economy by improving investments in key sectors with potential to create jobs and have other multiplier effects in the economy.
“So this government had introduced programmes to improve the agriculture, manufacturing and mining sectors, among others.
“We are working assiduously to fix the entire value chain,” he said.
Isa-Dutse talked about the challenges of vandalism in the Niger-Delta and the Boko Haram menace which continued to impact negatively on government revenues.
Nigeria is the second largest trade partner with Sweden, with a total volume of trade now in excess of 550 million dollars and a 65 per cent increase.
The relationship has been very mutual with both countries contributing significantly to the growth of each other’s economy.
A number of Swedish companies are established in Nigeria, including Ericsson, ABB, Atlas Copco, Tetra Pak, Gulf Agency Company, Flexenclosure, Oriflame and Sandvik.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor