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Establishing business ties with Nigeria in 2022 was one of the key tasks of Moscow, the Russian capital. SULAIMON OLANREWAJU reports.
NIGERIA and Moscow are actively strengthening business ties between the two entities. In 2022 cooperation continued in the format of business negotiations, as well as at the level of interaction between institutions for the development of economic activity.
In 2021, Moscow accounted for almost a fifth of the all-Russian supplies of finished products to Nigeria. Most often, Nigeria purchased from Moscow products of the Medicine and Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals industries, as well as consumer goods, in particular, makeup and skin care products. In 2021, goods of this category in Nigeria were bought 80 per cent more often than in 2020. In addition, the Nigerian market has on average doubled the number of tableware and household items purchased from Moscow enterprises.
Some of the Moscow companies that have recently started working with Nigeria include RMG RUS, the manufacturer of the gas industry equipment. On average, the supplies of Moscow enterprises of the machinery and equipment industry in 2021 to the Federal Republic of Nigeria increased by eight times. Moscow exported measuring and control instruments and hydraulic motors to the country as well.
Another Moscow-based company operating in the Nigerian market is Symbionix, a manufacturer of exoskeletons. Among its products there is a model named Companion, which is made of high-strength plastic and titanium alloy and weighs 8.5 kilograms. The exoskeleton adapts to the anatomy of a person up to two meters tall. At the same time, when folded, the model is reduced to small dimensions and is easily transported.
Similarly, the Targetta team, the developer of the VR Medica Platform for medical education and practical medicine, is actively interacting with partners from Nigeria. Even more, the founder of the company, Inna Bondareva, is a member of the Advisory Board of the NGO, African Youth Advocacy Against Poverty Initiative, which is located in Abuja.
Speaking about the activities of his organisation, Bondareva said, “The first negotiations with potential Nigerian customers were back in 2019 during Medica exhibition, which was held online. At that time, it was a priority for us to develop European markets, but, fortunately, those business meetings grew into a strong and long-term partnership and into a number of interesting projects to implement digital transformation tools in Nigerian healthcare. Now Targetta evaluates the potential of Nigeria for digitalisation as there are many highly qualified specialists who are ready to develop virtual reality technologies for medical education.”
Nigeria is among the top 20 importers of Moscow products in the Medicine and Pharmaceuticals category: vaccines for humans and diagnostic reagents demonstrated the highest sales dynamics in 2021.
Also on stores and supermarkets in Nigeria, you can find Moscow-made ice cream from Iceberry Trade House. The share of ice cream in Moscow’s food industry exports to Nigeria is almost 35 per cent.
“Iceberry has been working with the Nigerian market for several years. We supply ice cream in gastronorm containers for cafes. Most of all, local consumers like traditional flavors that are also very popular in Moscow: vanilla and vanilla bourbon. Above this people in Nigeria are highly considering ice cream with melon flavor, pistachio with cashew nuts, apricot and blueberries,” Tatyana Vasilyeva, Marketing Director of Iceberry Trade House, said.
Above this, ready-made animal feeds, which were supplied by Moscow companies, showed a large sales growth dynamic. In general, the total volume of exports of the Moscow food industry to Nigeria in 2021 increased by almost five times.
High-tech companies from Moscow are also interested in entering the Nigerian market. For example, the СMT Engineering began to supply service terminals to the country. Such equipment helps to automate the work of the company and reduce expenses for staff. Another innovative Moscow company, INTECH, exports to Nigeria developments to create integrated solutions for business scaling. In particular, the team’s developers are engaged in software for holding online events, organizing the work of automatic telephone stations, and they are also implementing applications for Smart TV and video calls.
Many of the mentioned companies got into the Nigerian market and were able to find clients due to the support of the Moscow Government, in particular, of the Moscow Export Center – an official structure designed to ensure the development of trade and economic relations with foreign partners. In order to support foreign economic activity, the MEC implements a wide range of projects, including more than 30 services.
For instance, companies interested in entering the Nigerian market could get analytical research on it – the Moscow Export Center prepares statistic reports for manufacturers of spare parts for ATMs, as well as for software developers for the financial, banking and insurance sectors. Suppliers of pharmaceutical products, manufacturers of clothing and ATM apply to the Moscow Export Center for assistance in finding buyers in this region.
The Moscow Export Center continues to strengthen trade and economic relations with Nigeria. So, in 2022, an online business mission was organized for a delegation of entrepreneurs from Moscow, where companies had an opportunity to present products and services to partners from the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Twenty enterprises took part in the negotiations.
High-tech companies from Moscow are already streaming into the Nigerian markets. The manufacturer of 3D printers – Picasso 3D, of non-contact lifting and skin rejuvenation cosmetology device – Plasma L, as well as the developers of medical dental simulators from the Geotar company, which are well known all over the world, Mat Partners, are also getting ready. The GNSS equipment from Orient Systems is used in hydrography, driverless bus navigation systems and other applications that require accurate tracking.
Also Moscow’s IT teams took part in negotiations with Nigeria: developers of voice and chat bots TWIN, a supplier of cross-platform software for the financial sector Smartcard Service, whose product is used by the Top 100 Russian banks, are interested in cooperation. IT solutions were presented by the authors of the Cloud4y storage service as well. It is already operating in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. For traffic monitoring, traffic analysis and adaptive road regulation software from a company named Traffic Data is used. Its products are in demand in Nigeria, which is ready to actively develop the “smart city” concept.
Considering the dynamics of food imports from Moscow to Nigeria, the participation of suppliers of soy meat under the NeMyaso brand, as well as the exporter of legumes and nuts Frutimpex, was especially relevant. In addition, manufacturer of maternity products – Peligrin brand, which operates in foreign markets and is ready to establish cooperation with Nigerian partners, as well as Global White – manufacturer of teeth whitening and oral care products, joined the negotiations.
The Moscow Export Center interacts not only with domestic businesses, but also responds to requests from foreign buyers.
According to Vitaly Stepanov, Head, Moscow Export Center (MEC), “Nigerian companies interested in the products and services of Moscow suppliers can contact the Moscow Export Center, which is open to direct interaction with foreign partners and has a wide pool of exporters in 12 industries – from the food industry and textiles to high-tech products. MEC selects the most suitable offers in the market free of charge and provides complete and up-to-date information about companies from the capital of Russia.”
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Strengthening cooperation is facilitated by regular contacts between institutions for the development of foreign economic activity of the regions. Thus, in May 2022, the Head of the Moscow Export Center, Vitaly Stepanov, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Russian Federation, Abdullahi YibaikwalShehu. The talks were attended by the Minister Counsellor of the Embassy for Economy, Trade and Investments Friday W. Akpan and the First Secretary of the Embassy (Economy Trade & Investments) Adeniyi Ganiyu.
In December, another meeting with a delegation from Nigeria took place in Moscow; the First Secretary of the Embassy Mr Musbahu Bashir Sadi and Chairman of the Nigerian Diaspora in Russia, Uwem-Edimo Friday Sampson, joined the team.
The parties agreed to strengthen cooperation, maintain regular contacts and provide mutual support to business, both from the Nigerian and Moscow sides. Mr Stepanov said with a view to ensuring that the business relations between the two entities remain mutually beneficial, joint work to increase trade turnover between the regions will continue in 2023.
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