ABUJA 11 October 2017 – The 6th EU-Nigeria Business Forum took place on 5 and 6 October 2017, in Lagos. The event was organized by the European Union Delegation, in collaboration with the European business and investment delegations in Nigeria, and European embassies and consulates. The interactive forum brought together European and Nigerian business representatives and policy makers to discuss trade and investment opportunities the barriers to trade and best practices to overcome them.
In attendance were the Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria, Ambassador Ketil Karlsen; Honourable Minister of Communications Technology, Mr. Adebayo Shittu; Executive Governor of Lagos State, represented by the Commissioner for Science & Technology; Honourable Minister for Agriculture, represented by Director for Agribusiness; and the UNIDO Representative to Nigeria & ECOWAS, represented by Dr. Chuma Ezedinma.
The theme of the forum was “Youth as Engine of Broad-Based Economic Transformation” and discussions centred on how young people can impact Nigerian economic growth in the field of ICT and agribusiness; with a session on empowering women entrepreneurs.
The forum afforded the Nigeria National Accreditation Service (NiNAS) the opportunity to provide insight on the value of accreditation to international trade. NiNAS CEO, Mr. Celestine Okanya, shared the benefits of accreditation to the regulators, manufacturers, conformity assessment bodies, the Nigerian government, and consumers. Mr. Okanya has also participated in the parallel Business to Business or B2B events organized by the Enterprise Europe Network in Nigeria.
EU-Nigeria Business Forum is a collaborative effort of the European Union and its Member States present in Nigeria. Since 2012, the Forum has served as a platform for investors and business people to interact to gather essential market information and build strategic partnerships to boost domestic investments and access to the EU market.
Nigeria National Accreditation Service was established within the framework of National Quality Infrastructure Project for Nigeria (NQIP), funded by the EU and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
