Four British companies, Monday signed business deals with Nigeria on the sidelines of the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit in London.
The deals were among the several others sealed between UK companies and their African partners.
In the case of Nigeria, Low Energy Designs won an export contract to install street lighting in Oyo State while Savannah will invest £315 million in the acquisition and investment of ingas assets in Nigeria.
Another British company Tex ATC is expected to install five airport control room towers worth £2 million in different parts of Nigeria while Trilliant got a deal to install £5 million of Smart Metering for Abuja DisCo.
Several other deals were expected to be signed throughout the day, with African and UK businesses committing investments expected to reach into the billions.
“Africa represents a huge opportunity for UK businesses, so it’s brilliant to see so many British firms paving the way in trading and investing in the region today to drive growth, create jobs and boost vital infrastructure,” Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss MP said.
“We want the UK to be the investment partner of choice for African nations, and our world-leading expertise in finance, tech, and innovation, makes the UK and Africa natural partners for prosperity.”
Before the opening of the summit on Monday, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari convinced the British community to invest in the Nigerian economy.
“For my country, greater UK engagement in its economy would bring jobs to under-tapped sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing,” Buhari said in an opinion published in The Guardian ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London.
“Millions of highly skilled, English-speaking but underemployed young people, are eager to work but without the opportunities that foreign investment can bring to create jobs and build businesses.”
The UK said the deals signed on Monday show how “we are building on that to secure a lasting commercial partnership of mutual benefit.”