[Nigeria Business Week] Andrea Ayemoba: National GDP for Q3 sees increase, amid growing economic concerns

The Nigerian Minister for labour recently has affirmed that more needed to be done in order for the employment crisis to be mitigated. He did allow that much has been done, but a lot of action still was required if the problem was to be tackled from the roots. Many would agree that entrepreneurship, with all the mentoring and support that it requires, is the most obvious answer. The Central Bank has not been idle in this regard, as seen in its ample loan disbursement in one year to cushion the pandemic’s impact on the economy.

The results of such actions will not be visible overnight, but the results of past efforts are becoming clear, such as the national GDP growth in Q3 of this year as well as the Naira appreciation on the official market. Nigeria still leads other African nations in global remittances, a clear indication of its economic resilience on the international scale. 

In other industry developments this week, Banking and petroleum came together for an oil exploration agreement worth over a billion dollars,.The Airline industry this week took a step forward, as national carrier, Dana Air, expanded its routes into southern Nigeria. Education and technology collaborated to expand knowledge in the technology industry, with Huawei taking on educating customers on new technology solutions. Beverage giant, Coca-Cola, finalized its empowerment program for women in Lagos this week, another step in the self-employment direction. 

Inflation has created concern, as highlighted by the World Bank, as food prices have spiked relentlessly in the past one year and this carries the threat of a larger number of Nigerians living below the poverty line.

A positive projection for the economy is the significant foreign investment that will be attracted to the country due to the Lagos Free Zone, an initiative launched to promote ease of doing business. Also promising is the introduction of eNaira into the economy, a move that will, among other benefits, improve tax equity and transparency.

Andrea Ayemoba is a Senior Editor at Africa Business Communities.