Olorogun O’tega Emerhor Chief Executive Officer of SAIG

To what extent do you believe that Nigeria can become a financial services hub by the year 2020?

Basically, the structures for Nigeria to be able to play that role are being laid on a day-to-day basis. I think this commenced effectively with the consolidation that happened in the banking sector.

Then the second preparation towards the objective you mentioned was the consolidation that also took place in the insurance industry. Today a number of Nigerian insurance companies are well capitalized and are moving beyond Nigeria to neighboring countries, like Ghana, to begin to acquire and grow globally.

How far has SAIG advanced in its plan to become a fully integrated financial services provider?

We are now well set up to begin to pursue the various aspects of the financial ‘supermarket’ that we have set up. The idea is not to compete with the really big banks because we also saw that there was an opportunity. After consolidation the big banks have created a gap between the very middle and top level of financial service consumers. We are actually positioning ourselves to address the middle tier of the market. Often those people are frustrated when they want to access the very big banks, and they may not have the financial statement to support the transaction that they want.

What makes SAIG a better choice for investors entering the Nigerian market than your competitors?

I will start by trying to point out the areas I would think international investors who are interested in Nigeria should come and see. Five years ago the telecommunication sector was a low-hanging fruit waiting to be plucked, but for country-risk considerations nobody took that opportunity. MTN from South Africa did take that opportunity and you can see what they have done with it today and now it is a very competitive area to go into.

But there is still the energy sector, which again is going to be the future of growth in Nigeria. The housing sector is of course another growth oppurtunity. Most people that can afford houses don’t have decent houses. If you take major cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, there is a lot of potential for that growth.

Is SAIG seeking product development expertise by way of international partners?

Yes, those are some of the things I wish to highlight. Regarding the mortgage market, for example, it’s an open book in Nigeria and naturally we need to learn what has happened in other countries, how they have been able to design products to address specific groups of individuals. That is an area where we actively seek foreign experience and investors who have played in the mortgage and housing areas.

Related to that is infrastructure, construction and funding. Apart from the expertise required in the construction and provision itself, there is going to be a need for complex financial instruments to fund this construction. Specific products will need to be designed to attract both government participation and financial advisers to design products that can address these issues while being profitable enough to attract investors.