Earlier this week the Minister of State Seán Sherlock, who has special responsibility for trade at the Department, my colleagues here at Trade Division, and myself paid visits to Enterprise Ireland’s International Markets Week at the RDS. It’s a great event for Ireland’s exporters and potential exporters: they get the chance to meet with EI’s 32 international representatives who cover over 100 markets. I was accompanied by Brendan Flood, Divisional Manager for International Sales and Partnering. It was a great opportunity to meet some of EI’s representatives and indeed some of our exporters. There were specialist desks on global sourcing, capability and mentoring, public procurement, Horizon 2020, and research and innovation. AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank were there to offer advice on capital investment.
What’s often most valuable is what generates surprise. I met for example Thessa Brongers who is EI’s representative in Lagos, Nigeria. Thessa said that the Nigerian economy is taking off and will likely enter the top twenty global economies in the coming years. We talking about a market of 170 million people and a GDP of $522 bn.
The GDP per capita income of $3,700 does not really tell you the full story about market potential. Try these instead; Telecommunications and ICT investments in Nigeria from 2001 to 2013 are estimated to be worth around $25 billion. Active lines for subscribers and data went from 96 million in 2010-11 to 127 million in 2013-2014. There are 45 million mobile phones and with wifi penetration across the country a priority, the potential for devices and the software operating them is vast. Don’t forget too that ICT often leapfrogs in African countries because they provide information and services that public systems can find challenging. Years ago on visit to Sierra Leone I was amazed to see smart-card vendors every couple of miles in what was then a war ravaged country.
In Nigeria, the market for pharmaceuticals is estimated to double from $2.3 billion (2013) by 2016: and this is a highly import-dependent market. With twenty one commercial banks and $135 billion in assets, there are enormous opportunities for financial services in the burgeoning market of financial products and insurance not to mention all the software needed for retail electronic banking, secure payments and database management.
At EI’s International Markets week you can move from these macro-economic teasers to grounded discussions with EI representatives like Thessa about whether the market is right for you and if so where to start. And if you decide to enter a market, don’t forget that the Embassy is always ready to help; our Ambassador in Nigeria is Séan Hoy and you can check out the Embassy’s website here. We’ve been there since 1960 so we know a thing or two about the place!
So if you’re thinking of exporting Enterprise Ireland is there to help and our Embassies are open for you too. Think about putting International Markets Week in your calendar for next year.
Eamonn McKee
DG, Trade Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
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