A Ghanaian and British foreign investor, Mr Charles Douglas, has tasked the Federal Government on the need to create an enabling environment as well as robust economic policies to enable foreign companies thrive in Nigeria.
Douglas who is the CFO and Chairman of Lumiere Group International (IGI), stated this in Abuja in a chat with newsmen on Thursday when he introduced the company to the Nigerian market.
Lumiere Group International is a private professional commodity trading, finance and investment group of companies registered and operating in collaboration with Joint Venture (JV) Partners in West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
He stressed that government policies, especially tax incentives, had the potentialities to help foreign companies thrive in the country, catalyse economic development and also impact positively on the lives of the citizenry.
He noted that there were veritable business opportunities in Nigeria and in Africa, but finance and management had remained perennial challenges.
“In order for any business to flourish, people need to believe in the business. You will need a conducive environment and government policies that could help individual companies to grow to open the market. There is need to offer incentives for business to grow. For example if you give Lumiere Group an opportunity to open our factory here, like with five years, ten years tax incentives, we will employ more people,” Douglas said.
He added: “If you find yourself in the UK hospital or an American hospital you are bound to find a Nigerian specialist there. So I always ask myself how come all these people are not back home in Nigeria, in Africa? Some will tell you because of basic infrastructure, like portable water.
“Because of all these, when I had the calling to come to Africa, it was not easy, but I had to come. But once you can see the good in any environment no matter what, the place will be good for you. I see Nigeria as a flourishing country. I see Nigeria as a savior of Africa. Being a Ghanaian when someone hears this they may not like it, but for me, it is a fact.
“The day Nigeria will rise is the day Africa will stand. Many people can attest to that. This is because of the opportunities that abound in the country.
“So Our company, Lumiere Group International, a Pan African company, is already operating in six African countries, including Abu Dhabi. We see a lot of opportunities here. We also see a lot of problems. But we want to be solutions to those problems. We believe in our ability to do it.
“We have registered a company in Abuja. We are a finance and commodity company thriving in cashew nuts, crude oil, corporate advisory, helping clients in raising funds, trade finance as well as housing mortgages.
“What we intend to do is to add value to cashew. For instance, we had an order to supply a company in Europe and we realize that you will make a decent profit of 35 percent margin, but if we roast the cashew, just roast and package it, the profit margin will jump from 35 percent to 85 percent, the same product.
“As a company we have researched, looking at the basic problem that we have like housing. Then we go out looking for solution. We are here to make sure that every Nigerian as much as possible is able to come up with products and services that will be able to create impacts in their lives.”
