Indian Companies: Opportunity in Nigerian Market - LFZ CEO

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) CEO Adesuwa Ladoja on Monday said there is an opportunity for Indian companies to develop new products tailored for the Nigerian as well as the broader African markets.

LFZ is a port-based industrial zone (850 hectares) in Lagos, Nigeria, with over USD 2.75 billion committed FDI projects to date.

"We are owned and promoted by Tolaram Group and located in Lekki, the sun rise development corridor in Lagos," Ladoja told PTI.

According to her, Tolaram Group has observed that having a local presence in Nigeria allows companies to better understand and adapt to the Nigerian market, leading to more profitable operations.

"This is an opportunity for Indian companies to develop new products tailored to the Nigerian and broader African markets," Ladoja said.

She said LFZ is serving global brands like BASF, Tata International, Kellogg's, Colgate, Arla, Dufil, Lekki Portamong among others as their current tenants.

"We are ideally positioned to serve the manufacturing sector because enterprises registered within LFZ benefit from immediate proximity to the deepest port of Nigeria, an efficient infrastructural backbone," she said.

The port has a draft of 16.5 meters, making it the deepest and most modern seaport in Nigeria. Due to its depth, Lekki port is now able to accommodate vessels with a capacity of 14,000 TEU vessels.

Asked about investments from India, Ladoja said, "Last year, we began discussions with Tata, and this year they have established operations in the zone to assemble tractors. They currently have an order for 2,000 tractors for the federal government, which they are processing."

She said before Lekki Port became operational, despite Nigeria being the largest market, a lot of cargo destined for Nigeria was routed through neighbouring ports due to congestion at Nigerian ports.

"However, this has changed," she said, adding that now with Nigeria being the largest market, it makes more sense for shipping lines and importers to operate directly within Nigeria rather than relying on neighbouring ports.

Apart from Tata, Ladoja said over 130 Indian companies have invested about USD 30 billion in Nigeria over the last 20 years.