The management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange is leading 15 companies and market operators at the ongoing African and Caribbean 2012 Business Expo taking place in London.
This is part of efforts to showcase the potential of the quoted companies to a wider world audience provided by the Olympics, according to a statement from the exchange made available to PANA in Lagos on Sunday.
“We are extremely excited about coming to London for the African and Caribbean Business Expo. At a time when Africa and Nigeria in particular are attracting so much global business interest, the Expo is a wonderful opportunity for the Nigerian Stock Exchange to showcase itself and a selection of its top listed companies and member stock broking firms,” the General Manager and Head of Listings Sales and Retention at the Exchange, Mrs. Taba Peterside was quoted as saying in the statement.
The Expo, from 4-9 August, is organized as a collaboration between Urban Inclusion and Regenfirst, along with the African and Caribbean Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise.
Apart from providing participants the opportunity to exhibit their products and services, it will also give avenue to showcase potential investment opportunities in the country as well as correcting some negative impressions about the nation.
Peterside said the expo would give listed companies, stock broking firms and the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) the avenue for networking with potential clients, investors, and partners.
“The first challenge is to confront and overcome the perceptions that exist in the minds of people outside Nigeria. The Expo will go same way in addressing the ‘brand perception’ hurdles which Nigeria confronts,” she added.
The managing director of the African and Caribbean Business Experience (AACBE), Emem Ekong, said that the expo woul facilitate dialogue between African countries and other parts of the world at the Olympics with the sole intention of marketing Africa beyond the general perception of war and poverty.
She said the business meeting would create a platform for the rebranding and visibility of Africa and promote both Africa and the Caribbean as great places to live and do business.
“Only 1.2 per cent of Black businesses participate in UK-based export, and outward missions compared to 14.6 per cent of their white counterparts. This project aims to address this gap and also recognises the importance of skills and knowledge transfer exported by the Diaspora community.”
Ekong stressed that Nigeria has a huge market that could tap from the platform that would be presented by the Olympics in repatriating profits and goodwill back to the country.
She described London as a pre-eminent centre for international commerce and with the event being timed around the summer Olympics, it is a must attend and an opportunity that businesses do not want to miss.
