UK CDC to invest up to $ 4.5 billion in Africa over the next four years

The UK's development finance agency, CDC Group, plans to invest up to $ 4.5 billion in Africa over the next four years to strengthen ties with the continent, said Wednesday to Reuters its executive director, as the country prepares to leave the European Union.

With Britain on the verge of leaving the world's largest trading bloc in March, government officials traveled to Africa hoping to strengthen ties with economies such as Nigeria, the United States, the United States, and the United States. South Africa and Kenya.

Nick O'Donohoe said DCC, which has invested nearly $ 400 million in Nigeria, pledged $ 25 million to a local private equity firm, Synergy, to support small and medium-sized businesses of the most populous country in Africa.

CDC also provided a $ 100 million loan to the Nigerian fertilizer company Indorama. O'Donohoe said the agency would like to invest more in infrastructure, energy, manufacturing and agriculture.

"We are opening a new office to help generate more transactions in Nigeria," O'Donohoe said.

CDC aims to open a regional office for West Africa at the Lagos Mall in Nigeria early next year and to establish a presence in Nairobi, while developing in Johannesburg and with representative offices in Abidjan and Cairo.

In August, British Prime Minister Theresa May traveled to Nigeria, where she sought to build new business relations and urged the West African country to take advantage of London's financial expertise to its infrastructure projects.

"One of the reasons the prime minister came here was to try to draw people's attention to growth opportunities and opportunities for investment and trade in Nigeria." You may be cynical to say that it's partly Brexit, "O'Donohoe said.

Earlier this year, Britain added the naira as a "pre-approved" commercial currency for Nigerian companies buying goods in Britain, while exploring ways to list bonds denominated in naira. on the London Stock Exchange to help finance projects.

In April, Britain hosted a meeting of Commonwealth countries, including South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, with the aim of reinvigorating the network consisting mainly of former colonies and creating new new trade between its members.