Investors Zone

Asides from the very popular
Crude Oil (Oil and Gas), Nigeria is endowed with numerous natural resources.
Most of these resources are under exploited. The general over dependence on
crude oil has meant that all other natural resources have been neglected. This
means that there are still large deposits of majority of these resources found
in Nigeria. Below is a list of states in Nigeria and their respective natural
resources.

We will cast more light on some
of these resources in the next article.

Olives Consultancy Services assist investors
looking to invest in the Nigerian markets in a variety of ways. Please visit
our website www.olivesconsulting.co.uk
for more information or send us an email on admin@olivesconsultancyservices.co.uk.
We have offices both in the UK and in Nigeria. We will be happy to read from
you and answer your questions too. Please feel free to comment below. Many
thanks from the Olives team.

With a population of over 180 million
people, Nigeria ranks as the 7th most populated country in the
world. Nigeria is an emerging market and currently has the largest economy in
Africa. These alone make investment in its construction industry a lucrative
venture. A large population spurs the demand for more housing and
infrastructures and any investor willing to step in and meet these needs would
be rewarded with handsome profits. Currently, about 100,000 homes are built
annually in the country despite an average figure of 700,000 required to meet
the ever increasing demand. To help tackle this shortage, the Nigerian
government in 2015 initiated two schemes; National Urban Development and
National Housing Policies. A total of $289.8 billion will be made available to
these two schemes to provide about 1 million housing units yearly. Building houses
also instigates the construction of other infrastructures in such areas
including; roads networks, school, parks, shopping malls and other amenities. It
also opens the way for the establishment of raw materials producing factories
by other investors for the production of steel, iron, aluminum and much more
for construction.

Over the last 5 years, the Nigerian
construction industry has witnessed an annual growth rate of about 9.5% and it
is projected to continue or increase over the next 20 years. Several state
governments are now realizing the significance of returning to their master
plans and town planning laws. This will set the ball rolling for large
construction projects in these states.

Housing

The Nigerian Housing needs span across
residential and commercial housing. Low cost housing is in very short supply in
major cities like Abuja and Lagos and also other state capitals. Investors can liaise
with companies or government organizations employing staff on a more permanent
basis to create suitable payment plans for such houses. Nigeria has recently
witnessed an influx of foreign investors; the increased presence of these
expats in the country has placed a demand for more luxurious houses and
serviced apartments. The creation of mega cities in Lagos and the Technology
village in Abuja also exposes the avenue to explore more residential housing
investment opportunities.

Modern and practical commercial buildings
are also in short supply. Most cities need more “professional looking”
commercial serviced and non serviced office complexes. These structures are also
required in the technology village and mega cities. The retail, hospitality,
educational, telecommunication and many other sectors are expanding and they
require modern commercial offices in different cities across the nation to do
business in. Profit margin on buildings in Nigeria is between the 25% to 30%
mark unlike an average of about 20% in more matured markets. So what is not to
like?

Infrastructures

Nigeria is an emerging market with
several developmental projects. These projects are major drivers of the country’s
construction industry. Most states have embarked on road reconstruction and the
construction of new network of roads. They
are also constructing drainages, building bridges and dams, rural electrification
and other major construction projects. There are major railway expansion
projects at the moment in Nigeria; within larger states like Lagos and between
other states to reduce the distance of travelling by road. Foreign investment
are also sought for new and existing sea ports, docks, bridges and airports,
which are at the heart of any developing nation. The Abuja Airport building and
its facilities for instance is managed
by the Abuja Gateway Consortium which consists: Airlines Services Limited,
Asset and Resource Management, NairaNet Technologies Limited, AG Ferrero Ltd
and Airport Consulting Vienna GmbH, Austria. This deal was signed in October
2006 and will span a period of 25 years. Many government buildings especially
in states are decaying or no longer fit for modern use. These are also avenues
for investment.

Raw
Materials and Machineries

Construction companies require
cement, aluminum, steel, iron rods, bulldozers and other raw materials and
machineries to carry out construction tasks. Most of these materials and
machines are imported at high costs to these companies thereby increasing their
cost of production. Standard Iron rods are still being imported and companies
will save funds if purchased locally. The construction industry requires about
17 million tones of steel yearly, but the country’s production is nowhere close to
that and so relies heavily on imports. Investors
may also set up local assembly plants or fully manufacture machineries like
cranes, welding machines or bulldozers.

There is so much more for investors
to see and explore about the Nigerian Construction Industry and we are happy to
help. Olives
Consultancy Services assist investors looking to invest in the Nigerian markets
in a variety of ways. Please visit our website www.olivesconsulting.co.uk for
more information or send us an email on admin@olivesconsultancyservices.co.uk.
We have offices both in the UK and in Nigeria. We will be happy to read from
you and answer your questions too. Please feel free to comment below. Many
thanks from the Olives team.

Olives Consultancy Services wishes all its excellent readers and clients a happy new year. We believe you had a very restful holiday season with family and friends. Welcome to a new year where making well informed investment decisions will be key to financial sustenance. We at Olives are here to hold your hand through the Nigerian markets, to help you make the right investment to maximise profits.

Welcome to the New Year!!!

Health and healthcare
availability in any country is very vital because the health of the people in a
nation directly affects the quality of life they live. The healthcare industry
in Nigeria industry in consists of both public and private sectors. The private
sector controls over 65% of the Nigerian healthcare industry.

Healthcare service providers include
clinics, hospitals, elderly and residential care, psychiatric care, hospices,
ambulance services and the likes. This is a multibillion dollar sector whose steady
growth is currently driven by national economic development, increasing
consumer income and its resultant empowerment to afford health care services,
extended life expectancy, population growth, advancing medical technologies and
treatments and increase in shifting disease burden from communicable to
non-communicable in certain areas. Based on population alone, Nigeria has the
largest healthcare market in Africa. However, it also has less than the average
number of hospital beds per person in Africa. The population also suffers from diseases
of both developed and developing countries.

The few hospitals available are overcrowded
and ill-equipped to deal with complex medical issues and the growing demand for
healthcare in general. The private sector is very fragmented with several solo
practices. They do not have the funding required to provide large facilities
using cutting-edge technologies to offer highly efficient medical services. Hence,
more Nigerians have resorted to travelling abroad for medical attention. Currently,
Hygeia Nigeria Ltd and more recently Crystal Thorpe are the only hospital groups
(chains) present in Nigeria, others are solo practices. The lack of cutting
edge technologies has led to Nigerians seeking medical attention from countries
like Dubai, India, the Americas, South Africa and Europe.

In 2013, Nigerians spent about
$2billion in foreign hospitals on major surgeries including kidney, heart, cancer
and orthopaedic surgeries. 38,000 visas were issued to Nigerians for travel to
India in 2012 and 18,000 of these were for medical tourism which led to about
$260 million being spent on medical bills, about $15,000 per medical tourist.
Any medical practice(s) in Nigeria performing such surgeries to the high
efficiency and standards obtainable in other countries will undeniably attract
most of these medical tourists because they will make savings from costs of
transportation and accommodation. Also, every patient benefits from the love
and care they receive from family and friends therefore getting such treatments
in Nigeria will make that more possible. Specialist hospitals in Nigeria will also
attract patients from other West African countries as they also face the same
fate. The provision of ambulance services, elderly and residential care,
psychiatric care and hospices are also other healthcare services suffering from
highly inadequate investments.

Investors are also needed to set
up Medical Education and Training Institutes. Some universities in Nigeria
provide courses in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and paramedical sciences.
However, some of these institutions have been shut down because they did not
provide sufficient facilities, equipment or professionals to produce highly
efficient graduates. Only a few of the remaining ones are highly rated. Highly specialised
skills are rarely provided and so medical graduates resort to travelling abroad
to attend other medical schools in order to gain the specialist skills they
desire. This is also very expensive, which means only very few can afford it.

The Pharmaceutical sector is not
left out, there are currently about 130 pharmaceutical companies in the country
but only 9 are listed in the stock exchange. Common drugs produced are anti-malarial,
anti-retroviral, vaccines, antibiotics, oncology drugs and diabetic drugs and
anti-helminthic drugs. Nigeria is still heavily reliant on countries like India
for the importation of drugs to satisfy its growing demand. The pharmaceutical
sector is quite safe for investment, thanks to the efforts of the Nigerian
Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). They inspect
factories periodically, allocate registration numbers and check authenticity to
prevent counterfeits.

Finally, there is a general
increase among the middle and upper class for healthcare options and insurance
services. This has led to a projected 6% growth over the next 5 years in health
insurance. This is definitely a good time to invest in this sector.

Olives Consultancy Services assist investors looking to invest in the Nigerian markets in a variety of ways.
Please visit our website www.olivesconsulting.co.uk
for more information or send us an email on admin@olivesconsultancyservices.co.uk.
We have offices both in the UK and in Nigeria. We will be happy to read from
you and answer your questions too. Please feel free to comment below. Many
thanks from the Olives team.

With Hotel chains including Rezidor
Hotel Group, Milan Group, The Golden Tulip, Wyndham Hotel Group, Hilton
Worldwide, Ibis and Accor amongst others currently expanding their franchise
services into the Nigerian market, it is evident that the Nigerian Hospitality
and Tourism Industry is a flourishing gold mine. However, this industry is
broader than just the hotel sector; it covers other sectors including
restaurants, Cinemas, bars, resorts, cruise lines, theme parks, event planning
and hosting.

With a population of over 70million
people and an ever increasing middle class population, there is clearly a
market for various services in the Nigerian Hospitality and Tourism Industry.
Currently, there is a rise in new hotel chains establishing in major cities
like Lagos, Abuja, Crossriver State, Rivers State and few others. This is however
not the case in all the other states as people still struggle to get decent
hotels to stay in other smaller states and cities. The restaurant sector has
also experienced a large influx of professionals, intercontinental cuisines and
fast food chains; Nandos, KFC and Ocean Basket amongst others. Although just
like hotels, their presence is felt mostly in larger cities like Lagos, Abuja,
Port Harcourt and the likes, leaving other states with just one or a couple.

There is the general belief that
people with higher spending capabilities tend to live in Lagos, Abuja or Port
Harcourt. While these states have the majority of middle class and rich residents,
they are also present in smaller cities and crave similar luxuries. I remember
living in Benin City as a child; my parents kept searching for nice places for
us to visit. They were very few and always very crowded which then made them
not very conducive.

Besides restaurants and hotels, Nigeria
is a country filled with art (current and ancient) and history that is
showcased sparingly and without enthusiasm. Nigeria in its entirety cannot
boast of 15 museums to serve a population of over 170million people dispersed
around 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory. So many Nigerians have never
been to a museum and those who have been (like me), have only been left disappointed
by the lack of update. It seems like the few museums have been left in the past
and continue to showcase its sparing ancient history without remembering that
new histories may have been formed since its establishment. There are also no specialized
museums dedicated to any fields like military, science or music.

Nigeria has so many beautiful
historical sites ripe for tourism and waiting to be converted into resorts.
Some of these are the Owu falls in Kwara State, The Mambila Plateau in Taraba
State, Idanre Hills in Akure, Ikogosi warm springs in EKiti, Kainji Lake
National Park in Niger and Kwara States, The Ancient Nok Settlement in Jaba,
Kaduna State, Ogbunike Caves in Enugu State, Osun-Oshogbo Grove in Oshogbo
(Unesco World Heritage Site) and Awhum waterfalls in Enugu State, just to
mention a few. Most of the tourist sites mentioned above is highly under
explored and some were developed many years ago and are currently in very poor
states due to poor management and neglect.

With our various rivers, oceans,
ports, beaches and water ways, I am not aware of any cruise ship that operates
from or through Nigeria but I know that many Nigerians will be interested in
going on a cruise from home shores.

There are not so many high standard
theme parks in the country either and the few good ones are always crowded
especially during school breaks and festive periods. There is so much more for
investors to see and explore about the Nigerian Hospitality and Tourism
Industry and we are happy to help.

Olives Consultancy Services assists
investors looking to invest in the Nigerian markets in a variety of ways.
Please visit our website www.olivesconsulting.co.uk
for more information or send us an email on admin@olivesconsultancyservices.co.uk.
We have offices both in the UK and in Nigeria. We will be happy to read from
you and answer your questions too. Please feel free to comment below. Many
thanks from the Olives team.

Information is undeniably important in today’s
global economy, therefore the significance of telecommunication and
telecommunication systems cannot be over emphasized. Countries and institutions
are tasked with the challenge of employing up to date telecommunication systems
as a vehicle for keeping up with the relevant Information Communication and Technology
(ICT) needed to excel in the current global economy. A country’s economic
development can be vastly improved by its ICT development. ICT can create the right
platform for development across all sectors of an economy.

Nigeria has also recognized the importance of
telecommunication and set in motion catalysts to ensure a largely improving telecommunications
sector. Banks have embraced this by introducing; mobile banking, internet
banking, pos systems, multiservice ATM facilities, airline ticket purchase and
hotel reservations and so much more. The rise of indigenous online shopping
platforms like Jumia, Konga, Adibba, mystore, Kara and Kaymu are also a
testament to the fact that Nigerians now have a penchant for online shopping.
However, this particular sector is still largely under developed as most of
these online shops only deliver in Lagos or Abuja or both. Many other states in
the country are still yet to benefit from this fantastic new trend. Also
because of the unavailability of secure online payment platforms like PayPal where
payment is withheld until goods are delivered and deemed as satisfactory by the
receiver, the online shopping platforms rely on cash in hand on delivery
methods which are not very modern or safe.

Virtually every other sector in Nigeria
including hospitality/Recreation, entertainment, education, manufacturing, auto-mobile,
entertainment, banking, power generation, construction, oil and gas sectors
have become progressively reliant on ICT networks. Recent development in ICT
systems makes it increasingly easier for Nigeria to participate in the global
economy. Although giant strides have been achieved recently in this sector,
there is still a lot more room for improvement asides form the challenges faced
by the online shopping sector as was mentioned above.

The Nigeria telecommunication service sector
is a very lucrative for investors as one of the Nigerian GSM (Global Systems
for Mobile Communication) companies declared full profitability less than
18months after service launch on investments of over US$700 million. The GSM market
experienced a triple digit growth consecutively for five years after privatization.
By 2013, GSM communication segment of the telecom sector recorded a market size
of about 110 million. Although just 3 companies currently control over 80% of
the market share, there is so much room for more investment in other segments
of GSM services. These companies still import sim cards which creates an
opportunity for investment in the local manufacture of sim cards.

Investors can also benefit from the void that
stems from having insufficient local firms to carry out:

·
Sales and
installation of Terminal Equipment;

• Provision and operation of Public Pay-phones;

·
Provision
and operation of Community Telecommunication (Rural and Urban);

·
Repair and
maintenance of telecommunications facilities;

·
Manufacturing
of high pair cables as well as fibre optic cables and other telecommunications
accessories; and

·
Cabling
(e.g. Telephone-external and internal wiring for residence, office etc.).

Mobile telecommunication services also offer
potentials for investment. Currently, services cannot be transferred to other
networks while retaining the same phone number. The subscriber has to purchase
a new sim card and therefore get a new number which can be inconveniencing in
several ways. Most services are still based on the pay as you go system of
payments. Very few and inadequate price plan payment services are currently
available. Marketing and sales, rate and billing, invoicing and collection also
constitute services that are calling out for investment.

The broadband sector is still evolving but
still in its infancy. Unlimited internet services for home and small and medium
business use is still a dream. Internet services are still relatively slow and
fibre optic services are yet to be established for home and smaller businesses.
Locally assembled or produced servers are still being awaited. Currently there
is a dominant pay television DSTV-Multichoice and there is still no other company competing
with them for clients as their services are head and shoulder above every other
pay TV service available. This also provides opportunities for investment. Local
(free view) television channels lack content and are plagued with poor picture
quality. This also presents another investment opportunity for investors.

Other investment opportunities in the
Nigerian Telecommunication Sector include: ICT Fraud Management, Intelligence,
Asset Protection, Asses Tracking and Cash Management.

Olives Consultancy Services assists investors
looking to invest in the Nigerian markets in a variety of ways. Please visit
our website www.olivesconsulting.co.uk
for more information or send us an email on admin@olivesconsultancyservices.co.uk.
We have offices both in the UK and in Nigeria. We will be happy to read from
you and answer your questions too. Please feel free to comment below. Many
thanks from the Olives team.

Before the discovery of crude oil
in Nigeria in 1958, the Nigerian economy was majorly driven by agriculture. In the
1960s, Nigeria was the number one exporter of palm oil globally and also
accounted for about 47% of groundnuts (peanuts) traded in the global market.
The Nigerian economy was vastly boosted by its agricultural diversity.
Agriculture played a key role domestically in production, employment and
foreign exchange earnings. Sadly, the country turned its attention to oil after
it was discovered. The agricultural sector remained stagnant in the 1970s while
the country celebrated the oil boom also within this period. As you can
imagine, that led to the gradual and then rapid decline of the sector.

The decline of the agricultural
sector was not driven by natural or climatic factors but majorly by human
neglect. Currently, about 78% of Nigeria’s total land area of about 91million
hectares is considered agricultural land. However, less than 50% of this arable
land area is currently being cultivated. Major crops produced in Nigeria
include: cocoa, gum arabic, kola nut, maize (corn), sesame, sorghum, millet,
soya beans, coconut, cashew nuts, groundnuts (peanuts), rice, rubber, cotton,
cassava, palm fruit (palm oil, palm kernels), plantain, banana, yam, citrus
fruits and melon.

Nigeria currently ranks third
largest exporter in Africa of grade one gum-arabic which is produced by acacia
trees. Its use in a variety of industries including food, beverages,
pharmaceutical and cosmetics make it a very attractive product for investors. Sesame
seeds, sugarcane, leather, citrus fruits, rubber, cotton, cassava chips, cashew
nuts, cocoa beans, groundnuts and rice are also few other agricultural products
that can be cultivated in large quantities in Nigeria and exported to other countries.

Besides exportation, the Nigerian
product market is still growing and has a large room to accommodate investors. There
is still a large gap in the market for investment in the food processing
industry. The fruit juice production market is still growing, this market lacks
indigenous varieties and product standards are still improving. Most fruits
including pineapple, citrus fruits, water melon, papaya, mango, coconuts,
carrots and tomatoes are locally cultivated in large quantities, therefore
production costs are minimal. Processed food like tinned tomatoes, tomato
puree, sardines, corned beef and other tinned foods are largely sought after in
Nigeria, but are mostly imported because of the highly insufficient local production.
The large local cultivation of sugarcane makes owning a sugar factory very
possible. This will also be a welcome development, seeing that most of the
sugar consumed in Nigeria is imported from other countries.

Investors can benefit from
Nigeria’s very large and lucrative livestock industry by purchasing leather at
very affordable rates. The Nigerian textile industry is still far from
developed and crying out for exploration. With the ready availability of good
quality cotton and leather, very affordable land, cheap labour both skilled and
unskilled due to a high population, the textile industry in Nigeria is every
investors dream.

The Nigerian government also
realises the importance of growing this sector and therefore has introduced
several incentives to encourage investment. They include:

·
Zero duty on agricultural machinery importation

·
Pioneer status incentive (three years tax
holiday) for agro-processing industry

·
Bans/restrictions have been placed on the
importation of several food items to encourage local production

·
And several other export incentives for
manufacturers in the agricultural sector.

Olives Consultancy Services
assists investors looking to invest in the Nigerian markets in a variety of
ways. Please visit our website www.olivesconsulting.co.uk
for more information or send us an email on admin@olivesconsultancyservices.co.uk.
We have offices both in the UK and in Nigeria. We will be happy to read from
you and answer your questions too. Please feel free to comment below. Many
thanks from the Olives team.

Over the next lots of weeks(sic) we will be exploring investment opportunities in Nigeria.

Nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy and an emerging market. it is currently the largest economy in Africa and ranks 26th in the world. Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa with oil contributing about 30% of it current Gross Domestic Product. Petroleum revenue also contributes 90% of its total exports revenue.

However, Nigeria is endowed with several other untapped natural resources including glass-sand, iron ore, coal, gold, dolomite/marble, tin, bitumen, sapphire, lead, limestone, ruby, topaz, just to mention a few. Our soil is also very fertile for agriculture with large produce of Palm oil, cotton, cassava, coffee, peanuts, cocoa, rubber, corn and the list is endless. Most of these resources are currently under utilized because of the general focus on oil revenues.

The service sector in Nigeria has also taken off with a blast, no wonder there is an increase in the number of banks, hotels, schools, housing and still so much room for more investments in these areas.

Over the next number of weeks, we will delve more into the different sectors and explore several potential investment opportunities.

Welcome aboard my business train and I believe you will enjoy the ride. Please feel free to post you questions and I will be happy to answer them