Mrs Christabel Onyejekwe is an Executive Director Business Development with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System and a co-founder of the Nigeria- Portugal Friendship and Business Association. In this short interview with Akinola Akingbala of Fortune magazine in Lisbon on the sideline of the Nigeria- Portugal business parley organized by the Nigeria-Portugal Friendship and Business Association, the Nigeria Embassy and the Portugal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CIEP), she gave her opinion on the event and other issues relating to Nigeria and Portugal relations.
What’s your impression of an average Portuguese businessman going by what you saw at this event?
Well, I will be say before now my impression of them was that they were so circumspect about Nigeria. And that they were not ready to come along with some of the risks, so to speak that we portend as a nation. From today’s event I can see that people are beginning to have a different mindset, they are changing their minds. They are looking at us with huge opportunities, they are seeing us a full potential country where they can deploy their skills. Portugal for me is very highly skilled. When you come into the country you see a lot of skillful works and you will know that they are a very talented people. So, after today’s session, I think going forward we should be able to see more Portuguese in Nigeria as we go along.
How old is this association and what is the number of membership?
We are two years now and because we just started, we can say all Nigerian banks in Nigeria are part of it, though not fully registered. That on its own could be 22 people. And we have for other business people in manufacturing and other sectors; we have just fewer than 50. We are growing, seriously we are growing. Hopefully in the future, we should be looking at the top 100 companies in Nigeria as part of this association.
By your own estimation, what is the level of business and investment between Nigeria and Portugal?
I could say we haven’t scratched; we have done really nothing compared to possibilities. Some Portuguese are there in Nigeria and some Nigerians are here in Portugal, but is that a business? No. I think from the association platform we can begin to say an invigorated business whereby we can now talk about numbers. We you check about the export-import data, you will not see Portugal play on that field, just talking about petroleum resource. But going forward, I think in other areas we should be able to see good migration of other sources of business between the two countries.
On a last note, what do you think the Portuguese businessmen will add to Nigeria?
What they would add! This is a country of 10m people and seriously from my own little interaction with them, in the area of construction is massive. In oil and gas, of course it’s impressive, at least what they are doing currently. I don’t want to give names. And of course, agriculture which is our next gold in Nigeria, they will so much value. They have land and they do all sorts of agric business. Then in the services, they can do quite a lot. They are the best wine producer if you taste their bottles, very good, very lovely wine better than those ones we drink out there. And they have olive, now you are talking wellness. Instead of taking our ground oil and all of that, it’s not healthy. You should just go olive. And clearly Portuguese for me, version of almost everything is more for me, and I say it as a personal opinion more a different quintessential level that every Nigerian that get to be exposed to it will appreciate it. I think it will work out better if more Portuguese products are brought into the country.
Pedro Hipolito is the President of the Nigeria Portugal Friendship and Business Association. He is also the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of SIBS International, a company that has been operating in Nigeria by providing technological services to Nigerian banks for more than 3 years. In this exclusive interview granted to Fortune’s Akinola Akingbala in Lisbon, he enumerated the myriad reasons why Nigeria and Portugal should forge stronger trade ties and investment.
What are the aims and objectives of this organization?
Portugal companies for a very long time have been exposed to Africa. Very big business in Angola, very big business in Mozambique, very big business in West Africa, in Morocco and Algeria. We believe it is possible to replicate this experience in Nigeria. So the idea is to create and expand this track record into a new territory.
Portugal has historical link to Angola and some other countries. How would you justify your interest in Nigeria with jeopardizing association with countries such as Angola?
Portugal has historical link to Africa not just Angola. For example when you look into Nigeria, Lagos is called Lagos because there is a city in Portugal that is called Lagos. In Benin Republic you will hear of Port Nuovo, it is a Portuguese name. In fact Portugal companies, Portuguese men have centuries of relations and exposure to Africa. Not necessarily to modern day Nigeria and I believe we can operate at ease. My own company has been operating in Nigeria for more than 5 years.
You said your company has been in Nigeria for 5 years, can you tell us more about your company?
Our company is a leading provider of technology for banks and for payment. We are active in 12 countries; particularly we have been involved in Nigeria for 5 years now. We cooperate with the Central Bank, we cooperate with NIBSS, we cooperate with the Federal Government and we cooperate with commercial banks.
Going by your experience in Nigeria, how would you describe the business climate?
I think it is fantastic. In the Europe the perception is that the wealth of Nigeria is oil but this is not true. The wealth of Nigeria is the size population, the people, the energy and the culture. Nigerians in general are ambitious and hard working people; this is what you need if you want to do business. For me, Nigeria is a very good business climate. We are very comfortable. We operate at ease. Doing business in Nigeria is something I recommend to my colleagues.
Of what comparative advantage do you think is doing business with Portugal by Nigeria?
We cannot generalize. Some companies have comparative advantage while some don’t. For example, the company that I manage is among the best 5 in Europe, which means I can compete with anyone be it from Europe, the United States or China. In fact, when I entered into Nigeria, I entered in context of a contest organized by the Central Bank of Nigeria in which 20 companies from the US to China participated and my company won. I’m not saying all Portuguese companies have advantage but I have no doubt that some Portuguese companies are the best in their industry.
Could tell Nigerians the name of your company and what you do?
It’s SIBS international. We are into technology for banks, technology for payment, operating Automated Transfer Machines (ATMs), POS networks, transfers, etc.
Is there any input of government in this association?
No. The association is fully funded by private companies- Nigerians and Portuguese. Both Ambassadors- Nigeria ambassador here and the Portuguese ambassador in Nigeria are honorary members, that all. The organization is totally a private venture comprising of private members from both countries.
Doing the discussions at the business session there was a continuous mentioning of an event in Nigeria in March 2015. What’s about?
In March 2015, for the second time we are bring into Lagos a group of Portuguese companies, entrepreneurs and investors to do match-making with their Nigerian counterparts.
