By Mary onyia
The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Samaila Zubairu, has described the Dangote Group’s sustained investments across Africa as critical to unlocking the continent’s economic potential.
According to a statement by the Dangote Group, Zubairu said this at the Lagos Economic Summit, themed ‘The Real Deal: Africa’s Greatest Investment Opportunity’, where leading economists, financial experts and industry stakeholders highlighted the role of indigenous investments in driving industrialisation and economic transformation.
He said the investments were helping to create jobs, promote import substitution, conserve foreign exchange and strengthen Africa’s economic competitiveness.
Zubairu noted that while recent economic reforms had improved foreign exchange stability, strengthened reserves and eased inflationary pressures, the focus must now shift to growth in industry, productivity and employment.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Muda Yusuf, said industrialisation remained the most effective path to sustainable economic development.
Yusuf called for better alignment of trade and industrial policies, stressing that local manufacturers required strategic support to compete effectively and drive broader economic benefits.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nairametrics, Ugodre Obi-Chukwu, said Africa’s growing population presented a significant industrial opportunity.
He noted that investments such as the Dangote Refinery were helping to retain capital within the continent while strengthening local production capacity.
In his keynote address, the Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said Nigeria was gradually transitioning from a consumption-led economy to one driven by investment and production.
He added that sustained investments in productive sectors would continue to stimulate growth, create jobs and improve living standards.
Participants at the summit also advocated stronger credit infrastructure, improved national identification systems and increased investment in skills development to enhance the productivity and global competitiveness of Africa’s growing youth population.