Asia-Africa Economic and Investment Forum inview: Africa is a fertile ground, it’s time to invest in Africa

 

Globe Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with Trade Nigeria, Federal Ministry and Japanese Trade Organization presents the Asia - Africa Economic and Investment Forum 2021. The Asia-Africa Economic forum 2021, Tokyo, Japan is designed to showcase Africa with a view to create business opportunity and strengthen trade and Investment relationships between Africa and the rest of the world.

Africa does not need aid but trade, International assistance may remain important to some countries. However, it is through investment that Africa’s development and prosperity will be guaranteed.

Yet in the field of investment, some international countries seem to be taking a back seat; quite the paradox, given that it also deplores the fact that Africa seeks such investments from those who treat us as legitimate business partners, such as Japan, China etc. Located between Asia, Europe and the Americas, Africa is at the center of international trade. More than a mere geographical fact, day after day our continent acquires more and more means to contribute to wider global growth.

Before becoming a great economic power, China was tipped as a future giant in large part thanks to its human capital. By 2050, Africa will be home to billions of inhabitants, a quarter of the world’s population — of whom a good number will be under the age of 18.

 Just like China, in Africa human capital is a major asset. Regardless, we must continue to improve the prospects for our young people, who all too often search for opportunities elsewhere.

Customs barriers are holding back Africa’s market potential and that is why the continent is undertaking the construction of the world’s largest free trade zone. It will unite up to 55 states with a combined gross domestic product of $3.3tn. It will take Africa only 14 years to forge what has taken other continents decades.

According to Mukwege, African countries are among the richest on the planet, but their people are among the poorest in the world. By doing little more than exporting its raw materials, Africa forfeits any chance of creating jobs and wealth. This situation is in the process of changing; African economic growth is being driven by the demand of the continent’s growing middle class. The continent is industrializing and now intends to transform and add value to the goods it exports.

The latest international rankings offer encouraging signs. The inaugurations of several ports respond to growing demand in east Africa; railway networks are expanding at high speed in Morocco, Nigeria and in the Horn of Africa; and sub-Saharan economic growth is expected to reach 3.8 per cent in the coming years.

However, rather than spurring hope and confidence, our continent continues to evoke uncertainty and scepticism due often to preconceived ideas or inadequate analysis. The most commonly expressed concerns are related to debt. By becoming too indebted with certain creditors, mainly China, African countries are mortgaging their future sovereignty.

First, we note that those who once exercised their own power over our continent today appear to worry for our sovereignty. Their concerns fail to conceal their true motives. Some would argue that loss of influence is the real worry of those who persist in seeing the continent through the prism of the past.

 That being said, debt is calculated on the basis of an assessment of a nation’s wealth. Many have put ambitious policies in place in order to regulate the informal economy that has, until now, not contributed to income taxes.

Regardless, many African nations are experiencing remarkable growth rates, with Rwanda at 8 per cent, Ethiopia at 11 per cent and Côte d’Ivoire at 7.2 per cent. Other countries on the continent will soon be in the same boat. On a practical level, this means that our nations are becoming richer, which ultimately strengthens their ability to pay off their debt.

The challenge is thus to ensure that such growth is sustainable and that Africa firmly integrates into the globalized world. To do so, the continent must prioritize addressing its infrastructure gap.

Investing in Africa will benefit the entire planet by strengthening Africa’s role as a natural bridge between continents and accelerating international trade.

Corruption: Major Factor that Impedes The Rapid Development Of Africa Trade

 

Look at almost any country on the continent of Africa and the chances are that it trades more with distant lands than it does with its neighbours. It is this factor that has dragged on the continent of Africa’s development for decades. The oft-cited reasons for this state of affairs – beyond the economic legacies of colonialism – are poor infrastructure, and the daunting bureaucracy, corruption and other barriers that business people find at borders on the continent.

Africa remains in desperate need of better road and rail connections. But there are signs that addressing the difficulties of crossing borders is at last coming into new focus. When the world’s trade ministers gathered in Bali for the biennial ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization, they hope to sign off on a “trade facilitation”. The goal is to standardize fees and paperwork, set clear, transparent and enforceable time-limits on how long goods can be delayed at borders, and put emphasis on such things as automation. If it lives up to even part of the hype, the benefits could be huge for trade in Africa.

Dissecting the proposed package, analysts at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimated that the deal would reduce the cost of trade by up to 14.5 per cent in low-income countries worldwide. Each 1 percentage point reduction in costs globally would increase income worldwide by $40bn, with 65 per cent of that benefit going to developing countries, they found.

Those sorts of gains would be very large for Africa, according to Raed Safadi, the former Dubai government chief economist who is now one of the OECD’s leading trade experts. A pro-trade industrial policy might reduce costs by 3-5 per cent, Mr Safadi says. Cutting the costs of business by “14-15 per cent will define the difference between those who participate in global supply chains and those who don’t,” he says. Also important is reducing the delays that both exporters and importers face at many borders in Africa.

“Time is money,” says Mr Safadi. “We live in a ‘just in time’ world …Time is what determines if the contract goes to Romania or to a supplier in Africa.” In a report last year, the African Development Bank (AfDB) offered a daunting view of the challenges to intra-regional trade on the continent.

In Africa, the average customs transaction involved 20-30 parties, 40 documents, 200 data points, and the re-keying of 60-70 per cent of all data at least once, the AfDB report’s authors wrote. Moreover, “in most African countries, there are two complete sets of controls to be completed – one on each side of the border post”.

African leaders have certainly latched on to the need for better regional integration. The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), a bloc of some 300m people, agreed to implement a single customs tariff regime from 2015 to speed integration.

 So has the private sector, Created in 2011, the Borderless Alliance in West Africa is a private sector advocacy and education group that also monitors the practical costs of trade along the region’s roads and at its ports. Its quarterly reports, which detail the cost of bribes per 100km travelled and stops and delays faced by truckers along important corridors, make for daunting reading.

In 2012, for example, drivers taking goods from the port of Abidjan in Ivory Coast to Bamako, the capital of Mali, could expect to pay $66 in bribes along the road and a further $25 in bribes at the border, according to Borderless Alliance reports.

 But Justin Bayili, Borderless Alliance’s managing director, says that the main obstacle to reform in West Africa remains one of implementation. Over the years, leaders and ministers have committed to many ambitious goals at summits, he says, and delivered few results on the ground. “We are all convinced that trade can benefit our region provided some of the barriers are eliminated,” he says. “It’s easy for our ministers of trade to sign documents about facilitation. But concrete measures are needed.”

Position of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria : Policies should be matched with actions not mere words....

 

Entrepreneurial forces are relatively strong in this country, as the lack of jobs and a rise in poverty leave few other options for the Nigerian people.

Although entrepreneurship faces challenges due to  lack of resources, there are non-profit organizations in Nigeria that are dedicated to promote entrepreneurship.

Apart from the information about Nigeria that is so widespread and often negative, there appears to be a recognition of the critical role and place of technology in the development and advancement of the nation. In the past few years, there have been the startups of internet cafes, new Internet Service Providers, computers in some schools, and connectivity hubs that provide access to information at high speeds. The Nigerian government has created and adopted policies promoting the use of technology in education. The Nigerian Economic Policy 1999-2003, is a comprehensive compendium of President Obasanjo’s policies and guiding principles for the nation. The policy states: “Government will provide affordable quality education for all Nigerians, the Universal Basic Education and mass Adult Literacy programs will be pursued in earnest” and in particular, “Government will create incentives to expand access to information and communications technology which will facilitate leap-frogging in order to short-circuit the longer span of development.” The policy even recommends partnerships with national and international agencies including the United Nations Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals program or TOKTEN as it is commonly known.
 

However, an important distinction between developed and developing nations often lies in the wide disparity between policy pronouncements and policy implementation. Often, signs of this disparity are found in the extent that policies are clear and measurable and that application is consistent. Often developing nations adopt excellent policies and guidelines that could, if well implemented, change the futures of their citizens but alas, they are very often not followed through. If Nigeria follows-through with its new laws guiding education and technology with action and implementation, and the people of Nigeria attain their educational goals and professional potential with the tools available to the world today we will witness the transformation of what is presently a Third world giant (or toothless bulldog) into an Emerging economic giant. These are attainable goals.
 1.    Entrepreneurship activity in Nigeria is primarily based on necessity.

2.    The majority of entrepreneurs in the country are operating in Lagos, the former capital of the country.

3.    Nigeria’s economic decline since the 1980’s has created a hostile environment that is unfavorable to entrepreneurial success.

4.    The Nigerian infrastructure limits entrepreneurial effectiveness and is a barrier to success.

5.    The high cost of doing business in Nigeria, such as the lack of adequate electricity and basic needs by a large amount of the population stifle entrepreneurial activity.

6.    Getting venture capital to finance entrepreneurial endeavor in Nigeria is very difficult because of the political and economic instability.

7.    The policies of the Nigerian government are a barrier to the success of large-scale entrepreneurial success for many Nigerians. The government is plagued by corruption and greed. The government systematically ignores laws that are already in place to promote free enterprise.

8.    The lack of enforcement of Nigerian patent laws discourages entrepreneurs from commercializing their ideas and inventions.

9.    The constant political turmoil in the country greatly limits foreign investors who would be willing to provide resources for entrepreneurship in the country, which is very rich in natural resources.

10. Political and social movements strongly affect the level of entrepreneurial activity in Nigeria. Religious intolerance and ethnic warfare limit country progress in some areas of the country.

11. Female entrepreneurs in Nigeria are often underestimated and overlooked.

12. Female entrepreneurs in Nigeria are often hindered because of cultural barriers such as male/female role definitions that label women inherently inferior to men.

13. Nigeria has the 2nd largest GDP in Africa, South Africa has the largest.

14. The Ibo ethnic group in Nigeria is recognized internationally for its culture of entrepreneurship.

15. The majority of entrepreneurs in the country are operating in the capital city of Abuja.

16. Control own life, to be my own boss, freedom to adapt personal approach to work and  attain family security are some of the reasons Nigerians engage in entrepreneurial activity.

17. The Nigerian government has a program in place that promotes exports from Nigeria to other countries, which will be helpful for entrepreneurs looking to do business in Europe or the United States.

18. Lower taxes and increased price ceilings have increased the incentives to                     entrepreneurs in the country.

19. Nigeria is progressively trying to incorporate modern technology into its country.

20. Nigeria is trying to actively promoting technology in its educational system with the use of the internet.

21. Although there are a lot of barriers, entrepreneurship in Nigeria is necessary for the country to become a developed nation.

Modus Operandi of Becoming Successful as an Entrepreneur

 

A lot of people are interested in doing business but do not know how to go about it. If you really want to make things happen for you as a person wanting to be an entrepreneur, here are some of the things you must do.

Start By Thinking Like An Entrepreneur

If you want to change your status to that of an entrepreneur, you need to start thinking like one. You need to change your mentality from just anything to something. Have the mind of doing business and to succeed. That is the first step towards becoming an entrepreneur, to think like entrepreneurs.

Choose Your Niche

It is very important that you choose your niche from the start. Decide what kind of business you want to do from the onset. When you do this,
it means you can then focus all your efforts into that one business type instead of just anything or everything, like the saying goes, “Jack of all trade, master of none.”

Know Every Detail and Create Plan

After you have chosen your niche, you need to understand everything there is to know about the type of business you choose. For instance, if you decide to start manufacturing a particular commodity, you need to know the class of people that will be needing the product. Is the product a necessity (for everybody) or is it made for a particular group of people. Just like diapers are made for children, you can easily determine its market.
Again, you need to know what is generally acceptable or the standard in the market. You can take samples of existing products and make your own to see how people will respond, before going ahead to start proper production.

Look For Investors

One thing that can easily kill a business is lack of start-up and running capital. Therefore, you need to look for investors before embarking on
the journey of starting a business.

Get Connections Through Networking

It is very important that you build a support network when starting a business. You need partners, referrals, allies and supporters. People
that will help in growing your business either directly or indirectly. You can join the association of the particular business you are going into. e.g Association of Cement Distributors in …, that is if you want to go into cement distribution. You can also register at the chamber of commerce in your locality.

Set Goals And Make Plans For Your Business

Setting goals and making business plan is essential to successfully starting a business and growing it. It is like a to-do list and it will guide your actions when starting your business.

Invest Wisely to Attract More Money

Even though one of the important traits of an entrepreneur is risk taking, you still need to invest wisely. You cannot invest in any business that you don’t fully understand the pros and cons or that is uncertain. you need to have a level of certainty before you can invest in a particular business.

Take Business and Investment Risks

As much as you need to be cautious when investing, you still need to take some risks if you want to succeed. Some business, may not present everything you need to know at first, which means you may not know the details until you start something. In this case, you must take the risk if you want to know the outcome.

Be Aware Of Competition

It is very essential that you know the competition in your market. After choosing your niche, you must study existing competition. Know their
products, market price, and advantage over the market and devise means of entering into the market.

Market Your Business

What is the essence of a business that people know nothing about? This is why you need to market your business to the world. It may not necessarily be on TV, radio or newspaper, but in any little way that is possible, advertise your business.
Nowadays, people complain that on the average, most internet users spend hours on the internet, doing nothing other than Facebooking, Twitting, Whatsapping and using any other social media at their disposal. You as an entrepreneur, can use this to your advantage. You can put your business on the social media and appeal to your friends to share to their other friends. So many businesses have been revolutionized with this method of online marketing.
You can become an Entrepreneur by doing one or more of the following:

Save to Reinvest

You cannot become an entrepreneur if you don’t cultivate the habit of saving. You need to avoid frivolities and be very disciplined if you want to become an entrepreneur and not just an entrepreneur, but a successful one.
Also, you should not put all your eggs in one basket. In other words, you should invest in more than one place. Diversify your investments.

Join Existing Firm

You can start by doing volunteer work with some successful entities in your chosen line of business. This will help you to get connections and grow your network. So that, when you are ready to start a business of your own, you will already have the right network.
It has been proven that the way you can become an entrepreneur is to join an existing firm. This could be very productive because, before you start your business, you need to understand the terrain or the market. Working in a firm that is in line with the business of your choice will give you insights to starting your own business.

Start Your Own Business

The best way to become an entrepreneur is to start your own business. It may not be easy at first, but when you take your time to develop the traits of an entrepreneur and take the steps listed above, you can be sure that you are on the right path to success.

Buy An Existing Firm

Outright Buy – When Microsoft bought an existing operating system from a Seattle company for $50,000 in 1979, they developed the operating system into MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), which became the standard operating system in the computer industry. Pushing Microsoft sales to $16 million dollars in 1981.
It is not all the time that entrepreneurs start a business from the scratch. You can buy an existing business that interests you and modify it to your taste.
Franchise – You can become an entrepreneur by buying a franchise. A franchise is an authorization granted by a company (franchisor) to an individual or group (franchisee), giving them the permission to market their products. So, if you already have a product that you are interested in marketing, all you need to do is meet with the maker of the product and apply for a franchise.
It is usually a legal agreement and you can become really successful doing franchises. Examples of a successful franchise company is the South African Shoprite group.

Make Use Of Social Media

Just like I have mentioned before, you can use the social media to do business. In fact, so many businesses have gone online and are using the social media as a tool in expanding their businesses.
With the internet revolution, a lot of people are maximizing the opportunity and make millions from the use of the internet. Online retailers like Jumia, Ezibuy in Australia are all utilizing the internet in generating income for themselves.

Social Entrepreneurship

You can start a non-profit organization if you have a passion for it. Social Entrepreneurship is all about solving social problems. Using innovative solutions to solve the pressing problems of the society.
Social entrepreneurs have the zeal to create a better society.

Enter Into Partnership

Partnership is also a good way of doing business. You can make it as an entrepreneur by partnering with other businesses. If you think you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, you have money to invest and you know a few people with business ideas that are in line with yours, you can partner with them.

Globe Chamber of Commerce and Industry: World Automobile Expo 2022

                                   

The World Automobile Expo 2022 will bring together suppliers, dealers,  visionary and innovative minds, top organization leaders, manufacturers  with all those involved in automotive maintenance, repair and vehicle enhancement from around the world to communicate with each other to focus on new ideas that will impact the changing economy around them.

The aim of the World Automobile Expo 2022 will be to identify phenomena and trends of key importance to the future of automobile world and the prospects of its development.

The event will showcase a range of vehicle parts and accessories needed to keep cars, trucks, buses, motorbikes and commercial vehicles on the roads.

The World Automobile Expo 2022 is a place to establish permanent cooperation between the world of science and innovation that will transcend to giving participants an opportunity to find key contacts, importers, wholesalers in the industry, make the right deals and see innovation coming into the sector.

Features of the Event will include, and not limited to the following:

•   B2B meetings with manufactures and suppliers
•    Addressing Business Risk Factors
•   Exhibitions
•   Display of exotic brands
•   promotion and attention to high standards of business activity, ethical standards in business and dissemination of the principles of corporate social responsibility,

The World Automobile Expo 2022 will be organized by Globe Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) in partnership with other world organizations and top Automobile Industries.

 

The year 2020 has been ascribed a year of serious challenge for organizations and industries, as well as the entire globe. “Our reality has changed radically and rapidly, regardless of anyone’s will, and in a way that no one had foreseen, and the social and economic effects of what the COVID-19 pandemic brought about are unlikely to disappear soon”.

Under those extreme conditions, Globe Chamber of Commerce and Industry will continually seek to remain true to its mission and objective, which it will keep pursuing developments in all sectors with the use of innovation.

Stay tuned as more updates on The World Automobile Expo 2022 come your way!

Follow  National Mail on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Nairaland for your one stop news update!

National Mail is an online news platform of Trade Nigeria that focuses on business development, Investment, trade, economic exchange and development.

 

Some Notable Nigerians Soring High at the International Stage

 

It is quite appreciating to know that despite all they thought Nigerians are for the wrong reasons, we still have outstanding individuals making the country proud and flying the Nigeria flag very high.

Nigerians are committed and very intelligent when it comes to dealing with international presences or issues that will portray the integrity of the country.

There are good number of Nigerians excelling and holding key positions in various international organizations. Some started out serving Nigeria at various state and national level before they got to the international stages.

Let’s take a look at some these notable Nigerians.

 

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, DG WTO

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – Director-General, World Trade Organisation

On Monday, February 15, 2021, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the first woman, first Nigerian and first African to ever hold the position. Her tenure started on March 1, 2021, and will end on August 31, 2025.

She also serves on the board of Twitter Inc., Standard Chartered Bank UK, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), African Risk Capacity (ARC), and at Lazard where she is a Senior Adviser.

Before these positions, she had built a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising through the ranks to attain many top positions including that of the Managing Director, Operations which she held for 4 years.

She was the first woman to become Finance Minister in Nigeria, and she served twice in this capacity under President Olusegun Obasanjo (2003–2006) and President Goodluck Jonathan (2011–2015) respectively. In 2005, Euromoney named her Global Finance Minister of the Year.

 

Bukar Tijani – Assistant Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

In November 2018, Bukar Tijjani resumed office as FAO Assistant Director-General of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department. Before this, he served as FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa from December 2013 to October 2018.

Before that, he had served as Nigeria’s Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development from July 2011 to September 2013.

He had also held senior positions in several state and national institutions, including the Fertilizer Blending Company where he was General Manager, the North-East Arid Zone Development Programme (NEAZDP) an EC-assisted Programme where he served as Director, as well as the National Programme Coordinator for IFAD-assisted Community-Based Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (IFAD-CBARDP), and National Project Coordinator for the Third Fadama Development Project assisted by the World Bank in Nigeria.

 

Akinwumi Adesina – President, African Development Bank

Akinwumi Adesina was appointed in May 2015 as the eighth President of the African Development Bank Group and re-elected into the position in August 2020 for his second five-year tenure.

Before this appointment, he had served Nigeria as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for about five years. He was the representative of the Rockefeller Foundation for the Southern African area from 1999 to 2003, when he became an Associate Director for food security till 2008. He was Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa up till 2010 when he was appointed Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture.

Adesina served as Assistant Principal Economist of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics from 1988-1990; as the Principal Economist for the West Africa Rice Development Association in Bouaké, Ivory Coast from 1990-1995; and as Senior Economist and Social Science Coordinator for the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture 1995-1998.

In 2010, Adesina was appointed by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, as one of 17 global leaders to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals. In September 2016, again Ki-moon appointed Adesina to serve as a member of the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.

Adesina got his Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), and his Masters and PhD in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, Indiana.

 

Kingsley Moghalu, Special Envoy on Post-Covid Development Finance for Africa

Kingsley Moghalu was recently appointed into the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Special Envoy on Post-Covid Development Finance for Africa.

In the past, he served as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration (2009 – 2014), as the Chairman of the Boards of Directors of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and the Financial Institutions Training Centre, and as a member of the boards of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), among others. He has also lectured at Tufts University as Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy from 2015 to 2017.

He founded Sogato Strategies LLC, a global investment advisory firm, and is also the President of a public policy think tank, the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET). He was a Joan Gillespie Fellow and a research assistant in the International Political Economy program.

Moghalu has a very extensive international career across several countries and international bodies. He joined the United Nations in 1992, and served as a UN human rights and elections officer with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia. He also served as political advisor to the special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Croatia; as legal adviser to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania and later the international tribunal’s spokesman.

He has also occupied different positions at the World Health Organization including Head of Global Partnerships and Resource Mobilization at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), and a member of the risk management committee.

Moghalu got his first degree in law from the University of Nigeria, a Master of Arts degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and later obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London.

He also earned the International Certificate in Risk Management from the Institute of Risk Management in London. He received advanced executive education in macroeconomics and financial sector management, corporate governance, and global strategic leadership at the International Monetary Fund Institute, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Business School, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

 

Amina J. Mohammed – Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations

Amina J. Mohammed was appointed the 5th Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations in January 2017. She is also the Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.

Before this appointment, she served as Nigeria’s Minister of Environment (2015-2016). She had also served with the United Nations earlier in 2012 as Special Adviser to former Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) on Post-2015 Development Planning4 and led the process that resulted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

She has also served as Adviser to four successive Presidents on poverty, public sector reform, and sustainable development. Prior to that, her early career focused on working on the design of schools and clinics in Nigeria and increasing access to education and other social services.

Ms. Mohammed serves on numerous international advisory panels and boards, including the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Secretary General’s Global Sustainability Panel, the Hewlett Foundation on Education, African Women’s Millennium Initiative, and the ActionAid International “Right to Education Project,” among others.

She is an Adjunct Professor of the Master’s Programme for Development Practice at Columbia University, New York; and also the former CEO/Founder of the Center for Development Policy Solutions. She is a Governor of the International Development Research Centre in Canada, and currently chairs the Advisory Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global Monitoring Report on Education.

Mohammed is a recipient of various global awards and has also been conferred several honorary doctorates. She received the National Honours Award of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2006 and was inducted in the Nigerian Women’s Hall of Fame in 2007.

Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo – Secretary General, OPEC

Mohammed Barkindo started serving as the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in August 2016.

Before then, he had represented Nigeria on OPEC’s Economic Commission Board (1993–2008), served as Acting Secretary-General in 2006, and led the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (2009-2010). He has also headed Nigeria’s technical delegation to UN climate negotiations since 1991.

He is currently the longest-serving delegate to OPEC. In between his years there, he has also held other positions. He was Group Managing Director and CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from 2009-2010, and also served as Deputy Managing Director of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas before then.

 

Mr Barkindo has also been a leader of Nigeria’s technical delegation to the UN climate change negotiations since 1991. He served as Chair of the Group of 77 and China at the UNFCCC and was elected to serve three terms as Vice President of the Conference of the Parties – COP13 (Bali, Indonesia), COP14 (Poznan, Poland), and COP15 (Copenhagen, Denmark), where he chaired the opening session.

Barkindo has a first degree in political science from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, a postgraduate diploma in Petroleum Economics from Oxford University; and a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Federal University of Technology, Yola.

Bola Adesola – Co-Vice Chair, United Nations Global Compact

In April 2018, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, confirmed the appointment of a Nigerian, Bola Adesola, as Co-Vice Chair to the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

Before this, Adesola had over 25 years of banking experience across First Bank of Nigeria, Citibank and Kakawa Discount House, culminating in her appointment as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited.

Adesola holds a Law degree from the University of Buckingham and is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and Lagos Business School.

Samaila Zubairu, President/CEO of African Finance Corporation

Samaila Zubairu is AFC’s 3rd President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his appointment, he was the CEO of Afri-Capital Management Limited. He has also served as Chief Financial Officer for Dangote Cement Plc, as well as the Treasurer for the Dangote Group during its transformation from a trading company to an industrial conglomerate. He managed the unbundling of Dangote Industries Limited to listed subsidiaries on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Zubairu holds a BSc in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Nigeria (FCA). He is an Eisenhower Fellow and was the first African appointed to the Board of Trustees of the international leadership exchange programme.

Mr. Zubairu holds Non-Executive positions on several boards.