Nigeria Decoded - Business Developments, August 2023

14 North's Nigeria Decoded is paying close attention to Nigeria's economy, which in August 2023 saw the advancement of pro-business reforms and the appointment of several pro-business ministers charged with advancing new President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's economic agenda. Some hit the ground running—most notably Minister for Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani and Minister of State for Petroleum Heineken Lokpobiri.

Tijani announced that the Federal Government had secured a?US$ 500 million loan for a local funding program to boost digital innovation and entrepreneurship. This will play well with younger voters, many of whom are skeptical of Tinubu but will also be the largest beneficiaries of the program.

Lokpobiri announced that the country expected renovation of the southern Port Harcourt facility to be ready by December 2023. Italy's Tecnimont is executing the contract for renovating Nigeria's state-owned Port Harcourt refinery at US$ 1.5 billion. Here are some other noteworthy developments:

• S&P Global Outlook upgraded Nigeria's credit rating from negative to stable.
• ?America's GE will collaborate with China's Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC) on the Gwagwalada IPP, one of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation's flagship power projects along the Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano corridor.
• The Ministry of Environment granted a license that cleared the way for Clarisver Solution to explore for Uranium in Mika village of Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State.
• American and Emirati investment outfits BlackRock and Mubadala were among 31 investors that have backed Moove, a Nigerian technology company offering vehicle financing for the rideshare/delivery industry in Africa.
• Google unveiled its plan to train 20,000 Nigerian women and youth in digital skills and provide a grant of ?1.2 billion (approximately US$ 1.6 million) to assist the Federal Government in generating one million digital jobs.
• Turkish defense company Asisgiard, which has a US$ 36.5 million contract to develop an integrated border security system, began signing cooperation agreements with partners.

So far, there's enthusiasm behind Tinubu's strategy for growing business and investment. However, it's still early in Tinubu's tenure—he took office on 29 May. This means it's too early to tell whether there'll still be momentum several years into his term.

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