Nigeria, through its focus on the digital economy, is set for effective growth and job creation with significant value addition in agriculture, and other sectors including oil and gas, while boosting productivity generally.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, made these disclosures on Monday during a virtual interaction at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Country Strategy Dialogue on Nigeria, according to a statement from his media aide, Laolu Akande.
Osinbajo said: “The cornerstone of our strategy is boosting productivity by focusing on value addition as the guiding principle for all sectors, especially agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals, digital services, tourism, hospitality, and entertainment.”
The WEF Dialogue series held in select countries is aimed at promoting productive conversations about key axes of growth and investment.
Focus on digital economy
The Vice President identified the digital economy as an area that is “big” for Nigeria, saying: “first through getting additional funding, we have a $600million Innovation Fund with the African Development Bank, which we hope will really energize the industry.
“Nigeria has 6-7 Unicorns and all came between 2016 and now, in the middle of two recessions. It does show you how much energy and how much traction the whole technology space is gaining.”
Speaking on the new National Development Plan, Osinbajo noted that the new strategic direction will enable the country to achieve a GDP growth rate that is higher than the rate of growth of the population and enable more social inclusion.
“Three broad objectives of our post-COVID-19 development strategy; the first is to overcome the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the second is to achieve a GDP growth rate that is higher than the rate of growth of population and the third broad objective is to enable more social inclusion,” he said.
In the monetary policy Osinbajo noted that “a key issue is the availability and cost of accessing foreign exchange. It would also be important, in my view, to increase foreign exchange inflows into the economy.
“We think a focus on supply, as opposed to demand management, is the way that this should go. We think that we will be able to persuade the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding our preferred approach to this,” he added.
Nigeria has 6-7 Unicorns and all came between 2016 and now, in the middle of two recessions. It does show you how much energy and how much traction the whole technology space is gaining.
Recall that the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), which was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 24, 2020, was developed by the Economic Sustainability Committee chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, whom the President also asked to lead its implementation.
The statement claimed that through the implementation of the ESP, about two million jobs have been created and saved across sectors.
Addressing societal challenges
Explaining the Federal Government’s policy on addressing unemployment, health insurance and Climate Change, and a host of others, Osinbajo said the major focus is to create as many jobs as possible.
In its introductory report on the Strategy Dialogue on Nigeria, WEF noted the response of the Federal Government to the economic fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying: “the Nigerian government reacted swiftly with a COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund, and a stimulus package of N2.3 trillion as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), which boosted its economic growth and helped the country exit recession.
Participants at the event included the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum; and the Managing Director/CEO, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji.
Others were the WEF President, Børge Brende; Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Agility, Kuwait, Tarek Sultan Al Essa; Chairman, Seplat Petroleum, Nigeria, Ambrose Orjiako; Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia; President, Islamic Development Bank, Saudi Arabia, Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser; and the Chair, Prudential, United Kingdom, Shriti Vadera.
