About 52 per cent of these companies identified Nigeria as a regional hub for their operations in West Africa. Most companies are inclined to consider Nigeria as a regional hub if specific industry regulatory challenges and business environment challenges are addressed.
“The survey showed that 64 per cent of the US companies have a local content target, reflecting an inclination towards localisation in areas such as products, people and supply chain.”
The council identified challenges affecting the firms’ business operations as unskilled labour force, specific industry regulations, local content, crime and security.
“Security of lives as well as Intellectual Property has been a crucial issue for US companies as this impacts investment and derails trust,” the ABC VP added.
The President, ABC, Lazarus Angbazo, noted that the US was a natural business partner of Nigeria, with many of the American companies doing business in the country since independence.
Angbazo, who is the Chief Executive Officer, General Electricity, while explaining the investment interests of the council in Nigeria, added, “The American Business Council is an integral stakeholder in the Commercial Investment Dialogue, which is intended to deepen trade investment ties between the US and Nigeria as well as designed to foster sustained engagement between the governments on concrete issues of importance to the private sector.”
