“I'm telling the world, Nigeria is open for business. We are digital” says Nigerian Trade Minister

   “I'm telling the world, Nigeria is open for business. We are digital” says Nigerian Trade Minister

CNN’s Richard Quest spoke to Jumoke Oduwole, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, last week at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. She discussed how her country is slowly but surely changing its business climate.

As Nigeria’s Trade Minister, Oduwole tells Quest that “for the last nine years, I've been working on business climate reforms. Over 200 verifiable reforms implemented by or verified by the World Bank.”

Despite these successes, Oduwole is aware of the progress needed within the business environment, saying “There's no shortcut. It's the people, issues, the processes and infrastructure. We need to start making sure there's more transparency and efficiency.”

When asked to describe the next four years in one word, Oduwole chooses ‘digital’. She explains why: “I’m telling the world, Nigeria is open for business. We’re digital. Five out of nine unicorns in Africa are Nigerian. Nigerian talent, our youth – incredible. Don't miss the wave. We are resourceful. We are resilient. We are agile in spite of the deficiency in power. Look at our economy.”

Key Quotes from Oduwole:

On her work on business climate reforms:

“Nigerian businesses have learned to trust the ease of, people, processes and to a lesser extent, infrastructure. The pay back has delivered on that mandate. Now it's time to take it further, move it to investment promotion, move it to exports of services because it needs less infrastructure. So

it's a quicker win for Nigeria.”

On changing the culture within the business environment:

“There's no shortcut. It's the people issues, the processes and infrastructure. We need to start making sure there's more transparency and efficiency. And we've been doing that work for nine years. There's just no shortcut. We continue to make it a progressively easier place to start and grow a business.”

On aviation regulation within the continent:

“Our minister of aviation has put in impressive reforms. So, part of why you have that lack of connectivity is, for instance, Nigeria was a signatory to the Cape Town convention, but we hadn't done the procedural rules at the federal high court. So that has been done last year. And so now the aviation sector is paying attention.”

On the importance of her role:

“It's about excellence, it's about impact. It's about being good at what you do and being committed to your role to deliver for over 200 million Nigerian people.”

On Nigeria’s digital future:

“I’m telling the world, Nigeria is open for business. We’re digital. Five out of nine unicorns in Africa are Nigerian. Nigerian talent, our youth – incredible. Don't miss the wave. We are resourceful. We are resilient. We are agile in spite of the deficiency in power. Look at our economy.”