Business Day (Nigeria)

PAC Holdings conference opens investment opportunit­ies between Uganda, Nigeria

- IFEOMA OKEKE

Panafrican Capital Holdings (PAC Holdings) in Lagos held a business lunch to host members of both Uganda and Nigeria to explore and engage in conversati­ons on economic opportunit­ies between the two countries.

The business lunch which was attended by over 60 Nigerian CEOS cutting across different sectors including Oil and Gas, Infrastruc­ture, Finance, Tourism and Hospitalit­y, ICT and Media, Telecommun­ication, Government and more, also had in attendance, Nelson Ocheger the High Commission­er, Ugandan High Commission to Nigeria, as well as members of Executive Management, DMA Group.

Speaking by way of opening remark, Chris Oshiafi, Chief Executive Officer, PAC Holdings commented that whilst it appears that Nigeria and Uganda share a lot in common, from similar history, characteri­stics and experience, both countries may not have deeply harnessed strengths on the business front in the areas of trade and investment­s.

According to the 2017 World Bank report, Uganda’s export to Nigeria stood at $929,000, with majorly food products accounting for 83.54 percent.

“Today’s meeting is particular­ly exciting because it reflects our commitment to engage the Ugandan and Nigerian business communitie­s and the aspiration to tackle some of the bottleneck­s that may have abetted trade relationsh­ip”, he told the audience as he pledged the support and preparedne­ss of PAC Holdings to ensure its success.

Also speaking, Nelson Ocheger, the High Commission­er, Ugandan High Commission to Nigeria, thanked the management of PAC Holdings for taking the initiative through the Business

Lunch, as he affirmed that both countries stood to reap a number of benefits including increased export and import trade and enhanced access to human capital.

He further said that, ‘ Uganda has proven itself to be a highly stable country over the past 2 decades, standing as the second fore runner at attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows within the EAC.”

The Business Lunch was also attended by top Nigerian Industry Chief Executive Officers and Management and staff of Panafrican Capital Holdings as well as by Senior Management of DMA Group.

Panafrican Capital Holdings is a Proprietar­y Investment Company with special focus on key sectors across emerging and frontier markets in Africa including financial services, hospitalit­y and entertainm­ent, real estate and infrastruc­ture, agro-allied and FMCG, healthcare and ICT and Media.

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