The Nigeria-Slovenia Chamber of Commerce has urged Nigeria business owners to explore the social-economic opportunities in the Republic of Slovenia in order to expand their businesses, promote Nigeria’s culture and increase earnings.
The plea was made by the Director-General (DG) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber, Mr Uche Udungwor, during the organisation’s Breakfast Business Forum with its members and the business community.
The event held at the organisation’s headquarters at Festac, Lagos, was to bolster mutual ties with both countries and opportunities Nigerian business owners could leverage in the Central Europe country were highlighted.
According to Udungwor, the Slovenian businessmen through its Go Africa Project, have wish to partner Nigeria in Machineries/Equipment, Engineering and Construction, Agro Allied, Pharmaceuticals, mining ICT, Education, Renewable Energy, Auto/Industrial parts, Electrical/Home Appliances, among others.
The Slovenia business owners through its business module “Go Africa Project”, Udungwor said, have begun to formalize their interest in investing in the Nigeria’s oil and gas, natural gas, solid minerals and others through the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the appropriate authorities.
He added that the Go Africa Project was being promoted by the Ministry of Economy “and Spirit Slovenia is a public agency for investment, entrepreneurship and internationalization”.
He also said: “Slovenia is aiming to participate in Nigeria’s economy with a view to expanding mutual ties with Nigeria”,stating that Slovenia with a population of 2.1million, stable economy and democracy, a member of the European Union (EU), the Schengen group and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development–OECD, “guaranteed Nigerian investors a low risk business environment to participate in”.
Udungwor encouraged Nigeria’s businessesmen to register with the Chamber with ₦50,000 for an individual and ₦100,000 for corporate body to enable them gain from the direction, guidance and trade facilitation it offered.
Disclosing that the Chamber would organise an export Expo to encourage Nigerians to export raw materials needed in Slovenia such as coal, ginger, coconut, groundnut, precious stones and others, Udungwor noted that Nigerian students could gain from the country’s robust education system to advance their quest for knowledge by applying to study there.
A participant, Mr Chuwkwuneye Obiesie, who said that Nigeria would gain from the partnership, stated that Slovenia with its knowledge-driven economy would interface with Nigeria’s innovative minds to scale up development in many areas.