Africa Center Visiting Fellow Aubrey Hruby cowrites for Ventures Africa on how global markets remain intrigued by Nigeria despite its growing instability:
Despite Boko Haram’s brutality, global markets remain attracted to Nigeria. The country was ranked number one on the Frontier Markets Sentiment Index which tracks the level of interest by US and European companies in emerging markets. Twice the numbers of companies were interested in investing in Nigeria than in Vietnam and Turkey – number two and three on the list, respectively. Over the past 18 months—during which of wave of insecurity has emanated out of Northern Nigeria, positive corporate sentiment has actually increased.
The existential crisis that many observers have predicted has failed to materialize and corporations continue to explore new opportunities in the country. Global accounting firm, KPMG has reported that Nigeria is the number one investment destination inquiry for the firm.