NIGERIA – German development finance institution Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) has opened a representative office in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, to pool DEG’s activities in the West African countries.
A statement released by KfW (which is DEG’s parent institution) noted that, “By further expanding its office in Lagos, DEG recognises the strategic importance that Nigeria and West Africa have for the continent’s further development.”
During the office launching ceremony, Monika Beck, member of DEG’s Management Board, said “With our office in Lagos, we are able to set an example for this African key region and the potential it offers.”
“As a partner of private companies, we wish to promote sustainable development in the country. In doing so, we help create qualified jobs that offer prospects, especially for young people,” Ms Beck added.
Dr. Stefan Traumann, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Lagos, emphasized, “The new office will help promote economic relations between Germany, Nigeria and West Africa.”
“We very much look forward to the cooperation, especially with regard to German companies coming here to do business,” added Dr. Traumann.
DEG offers customised advice and tailored financing solutions particularly to medium-sized enterprises and currently has a portfolio of some EUR 140 million (about US$155 million) in Nigeria.
One of the companies financed is the biscuit manufacturer Beloxxi, a family company founded in 1994.
Together with its long-standing customer Access Bank, DEG also runs the “German Desk – Financial Support and Solutions” in Lagos, which serves as a central point of contact for German SMEs and their local partners.
Since 2017 it has been offering one-stop banking services and financing opportunities, in cooperation with the local German Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK).
The German development finance institution recently committed its first financing for a local bank in Côte d’Ivoire, NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire S.A. and currently has portfolio of about EUR 650 million (about US$717 million) in larger West Africa region.
DEG is represented at five locations in Africa; next to Lagos it has offices in Accra (Ghana), Nairobi (Kenya), Johannesburg (South Africa) and Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), opened in 2018.
In total DEG is represented at 21 locations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, including its headquarters in Cologne. Moreover, as a subsidiary of KfW, it has access to a network of around 80 offices within KfW Group.
