The American Business Council, ABC, has said United States companies operating in Nigeria have contributed over N34.4 billion to the growth of the economy through tax revenue in 2016.
In a recent Economic Impact Survey carried out on the companies, it was revealed that the companies have expressed more willingness to invest more in Nigeria.
Lazarus Angbazo, president of the Council, made this known in Lagos during its first annual economic survey of the impact of US companies in Nigeria.
According to Angbazo, several efforts are being made to invest more in the key sectors of the Nigerian economy under a favourable regulatory environment.
“The companies impacted greatly on the Nigerian economy in 2016 through value added to the energy future, economic output, investment, jobs and social responsibility programmes to several communities.
“They generated N1 trillion revenue in 2016, while over N340 million was spent on training as well as over N217 million on corporate social responsibility activities.”
Angbazo further stated that more focus is directed at the oil and gas, information and communication sectors as well as other industries, adding that the investments seeks to deepen the ties between Nigeria and the US.
“The US is a natural partner to Nigeria with a long-standing commitment, there is a natural affinity between Nigerians and Americans and the longevity of American business community in Nigeria as exemplified by the number of the brands that have come,” he noted.
In the same vein, Darrell McGraw, Partner at PwC, said efforts are underway to encourage new investors to explore opportunities in the Nigerian market, especially the consumer goods market.
He explained that the survey was a collective effort GE, PWC, and Accenture.
“Most of these companies are willing to invest and take advantage of the opportunities in Nigeria’s consumer markets. The Centre for trade hub has moved to Nigeria. This reaffirms the fact that Nigeria is treated as the regional hub for American companies’ operations in West Africa.
“Nigeria needs to be strategic about the sectors to which they want to export commodities in order to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, deal. There is a huge demand for food products in the US markets and Nigeria can fill that demand gap if it gets it right.”
