Emerging Africa Unveils Book to Guide Investors

A drop in global flow of Foreign Direct Investment, (FDI) by 23 per cent in 2017, has created an urgent need to make the global investment environment more conducive through open and non-discriminatory investment policies.

Group Chief Executive Officer of Emerging Africa Capital Group (EAC), Toyin Sanni stated this in her new book, ‘Riding the Eagle’, which examines the strengths and weaknesses of the Nigerian investment market.

The book was launched on the sidelines of EAC inaugural board meeting, chaired by renowned economist, Mrs. Nike Akande.

According to the author, the work is directed at local and foreign investors who wish to explore the Nigerian market.

She said that the idea of the book was to correct misconceptions in the market and her quota towards making Nigeria a sustainable preferred destination for FDI flows.

According to Sanni, African economies are naturally some of the worst hit by the reversal in global FDI. She pointed out that Nigeria often attracted global attention for wrong reasons, such as economic mismanagement, corruption, terrorism, extreme poverty, infrastructure deficiencies and financial inequalities, amongst others.

“Regardless, a growing segment of global investment market is beginning to realise the significant investment opportunities that the country offers. Investors are learning to properly dimension the opportunities in the market to adopt measures to appropriately evaluate, mitigate, transfer or otherwise manage the risks of playing in Africa’s market.”

She added that the book provides answers to a wide range of questions that an investor may want to know about the business sectors in the country.

Reviewing the book, Managing Partners of London based Anthem Advisory LLP, and a non-Executive Director on the EAC group, Lucien Moolenaar , described the book as an excellent ‘go-to’ source book, coming at a right time. 

He noted that for as much as Nigeria was imaged in its weaknesses, investors around the world find it hard to ignore the scale of investment opportunities the country boasts of.

“The book is more practical than academic, more pragmatic than ideological and written from the perspective of one of the most experienced and innovative investment bankers in the market. I therefore recommend the book for those who have already invested in the Nigerian market or aspiring to enter it,” he said.