Mr Nicolas Lisbonne, a Business Development Manager has appealed to the Federal Government to provide necessary information that will attract foreign investors to Nigeria.
Lisbonne, a UK based business expert at Mekz Ltd., made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
He said the challenges of foreign investors had been lack of adequate information on the country’s investment sector.
“The problem of investors in food technology is not money, they keep asking; how do I start; what can I invest in; what technology do I need to use, risk involved in production and regulations.
“Industrialisation is a global trend. We are interested in the growth of Nigeria because we receive a lot of requests from investors who are eager for change and keep enquiring about how to achieve it.
“The major challenge of manufacturers is not finance, but lack of adequate knowledge of the food sector and technology for production.
“Ninety-five per cent of the food in Nigeria is imported, the country needs to leverage on its agricultural potential and population to reverse the trend.
“A product produced in Nigeria will reduce the price of goods because you are producing for a mass population and food is a necessity,” he said.
Lisbonne said access to a robust and seamless information and training would boost the readiness of manufacturers to produce locally and reverse the country’s N1.5 trillion food import bill.
“Producing food locally does not have to be difficult and expensive based on technologies that provide solutions in premix and diary alternatives with minimal capital investment,” he said.
He said affordable production line and innovative technology would drive the growth of locally produced foods.
Lisbonne reiterated that increased local production would create wealth, improve purchasing power of the people, generate employment as well as increase the country’s GDP. (NAN)