A yearly high-level event
Exclusive Focus on French Minister Olivier Becht’s Visit
The French-Nigerian Economic Summit took place in Lagos on Thursday. A highlight of the “French Week” – a series of events organised each year by the French-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce – the high-level event was opened by the Chairman of the French-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce Mr Usman Mohammed, as well as by Dr Hebert Wigwe as Chairman of the France-Nigeria Business Council.
Nigeria, a strategic partner for France
Mr Becht’s visit to Nigeria is the third from a French official since the election of President Tinubu, and comes only two weeks after the French Minister of Foreign Affairs met the Nigerian President in early November. During his speech to the economic summit, he praised the exceptional density of the French-Nigerian economic relation. “Nigeria is a key economic partner for France,” he stated, citing Nigeria’s pace as France’s first trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for over 20% of France’s trade with the region.
He added: “France is among the very top investors to Nigeria, with over $10bn in investment stocks. Together, the hundred or so French companies that have a permanent presence in Nigeria, in a wide range of sectors, employ over 10,000 people in the country – mostly Nigerians. These French companies are not just selling French products: they are investing in Nigeria’s economy and creating jobs, factories, farms and vocational training centres.”
Agriculture, Energy & Tech as high-potential areas of cooperation
Stating that the implementation of the reform agenda had raised high expectations among French companies and investors, many of whom had made the trip especially from France, he cited agriculture, energy and tech as the areas having the greatest potential for the future of the bilateral relation. Roundtable discussions on those topics followed.
“Agriculture is certainly a central aspect of economic prosperity and self-reliance. A sound agriculture reduces the need to import food from abroad, it helps keep food prices down and provides jobs for the youth in rural areas, increasing opportunities for all. I believe France, as Europe’s first agricultural power, is Nigeria’s natural partner for agribusiness.” The Minister then announced that for the first time in history, Nigeria will be represented next February at the Paris International Agricultural Show – one of the largest in the world – thanks to a dedicated pavilion.
“France wants to support the efforts of the Nigerian government and private sector in energy. French businesses already have a strong presence in Nigeria, with RTE – the national power transporter in France – providing advice for the conception of the Northern Corridor, a major infrastructure project to which AFD is contributing 200 M€ in financing. On the other end of that spectrum, French energy majors such as Engie or TotalEnergies are very active in Nigeria in the solar mini-grid industry, effectively contributing to the electrification of rural areas and private industrials clusters.
“Tech is another sector with tremendous potential for French-Nigerian cooperation. I would like to underline this little-known fact that France is a European powerhouse in entrepreneurship and innovation. According to the OECD, France is the European country that is most attractive for start-ups founders, ahead of the UK. Globally, we rank third, behind Canada and the United States. In fact, for the fourth year running, France is the number one investment destination in Europe, especially for R&D centres, and a champion in innovation.”
The Economic Summit included a signature ceremony, during which several deals were made public, especially in the field of agribusiness. Raedial Holdings and Compagnie Fruitière have signed an MoU announcing their project to grow bananas in Cross River State. FanMilk (a brand of Danone) has signed with Koolboks, a start-up co-founded in France by a Nigerian entrepreneur, to use innovative fridges for the delivery operations. Other deals were signed in the field of renewable energy.
List of Deals signed during the Economic Summit’s Signing Ceremony
1. Compagnie Fruitière & Readial Holdings
Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in banana cultivation in Cross-River State, and later pineapple cultivation.
Compagnie Fruitière was founded in 1938 in Marseille, where its head office is still located. Majority-owned by the founding family, it is a European leader in fruit, particularly bananas. Thanks to its successful vertical integration and the development of real expertise in fruit and vegetables, Compagnie Fruitière, with over 20,000 employees worldwide and consolidated sales of over €720m.
Raedial Holdings Ltd is a diversified Nigerian conglomerate that provides quality services in different sectors in Nigeria and Africa. Its services cut across all major industries such as Agriculture, Real Estate, Energy, Hospitality and Finance.
2. Danone & Koolboks
Memorandum of Understanding for the use of solar-powered refrigerator boxes supplied by Koolboks.
Danone is present in Nigeria through Fan Milk Plc (acquired in 2013). Fan Milk, which also operates in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso, began operations in Nigeria in 1961. The company specialises in the production and distribution of frozen dairy products, juices and ice creams. Today, it also distributes Danone infant milks. Fan Milk’s headquarters and factory are located in Ibadan, Oyo State. The company currently employs over 800 people in Nigeria, and contributes to a unique ecosystem of over 17,000 street vendors and 1,200 agents who distribute its products across Nigeria.
Koolboks is a start-up provides a reliable and alternative long term storage technique due to the superior insulation and ice battery technology employed in the design. The Koolhome is a solar-powered refrigeration solution that generates continuous cooling in the absence of power and sunlight. Customers pay in small installments through a Pay-As-You-Go technology which enables mobile money payments and GSM-based machine-to-machine connectivity to remotely control and monitor the refrigerator’s usage, billing and performance. The start-up was co-founded in France by Ayoola Dominic, a Nigerian entrepreneur, and Deborah Gael, who is French. It has since opened a permanent office in Lagos, in addition to their Paris headquarters. They were recently granted €1,5m in financing from the French Fund for the Global Environment (FFEM).
3. Echosys & Rensource
Memorandum of Understanding for a €15 M financing tranche for the installation of off-grid power plants.
Echosys is a financial advisory firm focused on renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and industrial decarbonization. Echosys has raised the €100 million Afrigreen renewable energy debt fund in 2023. A quarter of this fund is deployed in Nigeria.
Rensource is a Nigerian company which develops, finances, and manages critical energy infrastructure for African enterprises. It received funding from Proparco.
4. Echosys & Watt Renewables
Financing framework agreement of 20 million US dollars over 10 years whereby the Afrigreen fund will provide debt financing for all the solar photovoltaic plants built by Watt Renewables in Nigeria for their industrial and commercial clients in the telecom and financial services sectors. Watt Renewables is a clean energy producer with offices in Lagos and headquarters in Canada, which operates over 160 productions sites in Nigeria.
5. Access Bank & Bpifrance
Memorandum of Understanding of mutual support for the development of Access Bank in France and Bpifrance in Nigeria.
Bpifrance is a French public sector investment bank.
