By Francis Kadiri
Abuja
Nigeria is one of the countries to benefit from the Netherlands’ 700 million euro Growth Fund to be launched in July 2014, the Netherlands minister of foreign trade and development co-operation, Ms. Lilianne Ploumen, has said.
The decision to include Nigeria in the preferred list of countries came on the heels of the discussion between minister of industry, trade and investment, Olusegun Aganga, and his Dutch counterpart, last year. Aganga confirmed this during the Nigeria-Netherlands Business Forum in Lagos.
The Netherlands minister is currently in Nigeria with a delegation of over 20 Dutch businessmen to tie the win-win trade and investment relationships.
The Dutch Growth Fund will enable Nigerian entrepreneurs and SMEs to form Joint Ventures with their Dutch counterparts, expand their businesses and also invest in critical and thriving sectors.
Aganga said, “Netherlands is one of Nigeria’s largest trading partners. Within the last five years, the value of trade between Nigeria and Netherlands has grown from about $2.5 billion to about $10 billion.
“In addition to the fact that there are so many Dutch companies operating and doing well in Nigeria, there is also the E700 million Dutch Growth Fund, which the government of Netherlands is planning to establish that will be accessed by Nigerians in partnership with Dutch entrepreneurs. This will make Joint Ventures easier between the two countries.”
Speaking during the event, Ploumen said the decision to include Nigeria as one of the benefitting countries was based on Nigeria’s huge economic potentials as the biggest economy in Africa, adding that the Fund would also help to fast-track inclusive economic growth, especially in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“The Dutch Fund will promote the joint venture and investment of Dutch companies with their Nigerian counterparts. Nigeria has been included as one of the countries that will benefit from the fund because we see great investment and growth opportunities in Nigeria.
“Within the next three to four years, we will be investing 700 million Euros into the fund, which is open for all sectors of the Nigerian economy. The objective is for us to enhance inclusive economic growth in Nigeria, which is the largest economy in Africa.
“The Dutch Growth Fund is open to all Nigerian entrepreneurs. We look forward to seeing more of Nigerian businesses partnering with their Dutch counterparts and leveraging on the friendship and good economic relations that exist between Nigeria and Netherlands to expand the business, trade and economic relationships between the two countries.”
