By Olukayode Idowu
Access Bank has launched a French Desk, a platform to connect French and Nigerian companies and providing them with financial solutions to conduct trade and investment activities between both countries.
A statement by the French Embassy on Wednesday, read that: “The French Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, Mrs Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, joined today Dr Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director and CEO of Access Corporation and Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank Plc, for the launching of the Access Bank French Desk.”
This action followed the opening in Paris earlier this month of the first subsidiary of Access Bank in the European Union, the French Desk will be based at the headquarters of Access Bank in Lagos. “It will be used as a platform to connect French and Nigerian companies and providing them with financial solutions to conduct trade and investment activities between both countries.”
The French Minister of State congratulated Dr Wigwe, also Chairman of the France Nigeria Business Council, and welcome the signing of an agreement with Business France Nigeria to partner on the French Desk.
She declared that the initiative illustrates the huge dynamism and potential of the economic ties between Nigeria and France, which have been continuously strengthened since President Macron’s visit to Nigeria in 2018. This desk will enable to further strengthen an already substantial economic partnership and benefit companies from both countries, including SMEs.
The statement said Nigeria is France’s 1st trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, as it alone accounts for 22% of France’s trade with that region. Nigeria also accounts for nearly 60% of the stock of French investment in West Africa and 17% of the French FDI stock in Africa. Around 100 French companies are established in Nigeria, generating around 10,000 direct jobs as well as training. France’s presence is particularly diverse in Energy, Agrifood, Pharmaceuticals, Logistics, Tech, Microfinance.
