Head of the executive branch of New York City’s government, Mayor Bill De Blasio, will join Nigerian diplomats in the United States, stakeholders in key sectors of the Nigerian and U.S. markets and the international investment community who will meet at the Nigeria Development and Finance Forum (NDFF) 2014 conference.

The Office of the Mayor of New York City has confirmed its support for the conference, which will hold on 29th – 31st May, at The Westin New York Grand Central Hotel, New York City, United States.  The Mayor’s Office is officially the second key U.S. institutional partner to the organizing of the conference, along with the United States Department of Commerce (USDOC).

The participation of the Mayor’s Office will promote solidarity among the U.S. investment community and Nigerian businesses while forging longstanding diplomatic and business relations between the United States and Nigeria. Apart from education and worker’s rights, top on Mayor de Blasio’s agenda is affordable housing. In February, he appointed Shola Olatoye, a Nigerian-American, as Chair/CEO of New York City Housing Authority. Bill De Blasio is the 109th Mayor of New York City. He came into office on January 1, 2014. He was formerly Regional Director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and later spent eight years (2002-2010) on the New York City Council before being elected as New York City Public Advocate in 2010.

The conference will provide opportunities for potential business partnerships in project financing and development between the two countries, while also providing objective knowledge of the Nigerian country risk and investment outlook, especially in Agriculture, Power, Real Estate & Housing Finance, Hospitality and SMEs. At one of the special highlight events of the conference, a session on the Nigerian Real Estate and Housing Finance, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria will promote its initiative on Diaspora Mortgage.

The theme of the conference is: “Entrenchment of Economic Growth in Nigeria: Opportunities for Asset Diversification, Investments in Housing, Textile & Fashion Industry, SMEs and Value Chains of Big Businesses.”

The following sessions are confirmed to hold at NDFF 2014.

1.    Macroeconomic Outlook and Country Competitiveness in sub Saharan Africa
2.    Nigerian Banks and their Ability to Fund the Growth
3.    SME Opportunities in Nigeria for Private Equity and Venture Capital Investors
4.    Governance and Political Risk Outlook
5.    Investment Opportunities in Agriculture Value Chain
6.    Investing in Nigeria’s Fast-growing Hospitality Industry
7.    Real Estate, Housing Finance and Diaspora Mortgage Initiatives
8.    Ongoing Power Sector Reforms and the Inherent Investment Opportunities
9.    Real Sector Growth and the Changing Fortunes of Nigeria’s Textile Industry
10.    Networking and Gala Dinner

Confirmation of various government and private sector businesses is ongoing in tandem with registration of delegates.

About NDFF

Nigeria Development & Finance Forum (NDFF) is an annual international conference that provides the international community of finance and investment independent policy briefings on the Nigerian market. Organizer, Financial Nigeria International Limited is interested in taking a prominent role in Nigeria’s emergence as a world-class emerging market. Financial Nigeria international is the publisher of Financial Nigeria magazine – a monthly development and finance journal, which has been continuously published since August 2008. Independent and authoritative, the magazine has become a valuable tool in understanding the Nigerian market as well as other frontier markets of sub Saharan Africa.

For further information on the conference, please contact:

Martins Hile (NIG): +
Deola Otunuga (US):
Email:

The conference website is www.myndff.com.

2014-04-24