13th November, 2019
PanAfrican Capital Holdings (PAC Holdings) in Lagos held a business Lunch to host members of both Uganda and Nigeria to explore and engage in conversations on economic opportunities between the two countries.
The Business Lunch which was attended by over 60 Nigerian CEOs cutting across different sectors including Oil and Gas, Infrastructure, Finance, Tourism and Hospitality, ICT and Media, Telecommunication, Government and more, also had in attendance, the High Commissioner, Ugandan High Commission to Nigeria, Ambassador Nelson Ocheger as well as members of Executive Management, DMA Group.
Speaking by way of opening remark, Chief Executive Officer, PAC Holdings, Chris Oshiafi commented that whilst it appears that Nigeria and Uganda share a lot in common, from similar history, characteristics and experience, both countries may not have deeply harnessed strengths on the business front in the areas of trade and investments.
According to the 2017 World Bank report, Uganda’s export to Nigeria stood at $929,000, with majorly food products accounting for 83.54%.
“Today’s meeting is particularly exciting because it reflects our commitment to engage the Ugandan and Nigerian business communities and the aspiration to tackle some of the bottlenecks that may have abetted trade relationship”, he told the audience as he pledged the support and preparedness of PAC Holdings to ensure its success.
Also speaking, Ambassador Nelson Ocheger thanked the management of PAC Holdings for taking the initiative through the Business Lunch, as he affirmed that both countries stood to reap a number of benefits including increased export and import trade and enhanced access to human capital.
He further said that “Uganda has proven itself to be a highly stable country over the past 2 decades, standing as the second forerunner at attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows within the EAC.”
The Business Lunch was also attended by top Nigerian Industry Chief Executive Officers and Management and staff of PanAfrican Capital Holdings as well as by Senior Management of DMA Group.