Nigeria’s finance minister believes the country’s economic growth must double in the next year or two

Nigeria’s finance minister told Reuters on Thursday at the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum that the country must double its economic growth in the next year or two from an annualized rate of 3.5% in the third quarter in order to bring its people out of poverty.

Nigeria is on the route to development following a year of difficult economic changes that drove prices skyrocketing but should allow for greater investment, according to Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Wale Edun.

In a Thursday interview, Edun stated that he has been hosting meetings in Davos this week with corporate executives from the consumer goods, food and beverage, financial services, and infrastructure sectors in order to encourage investment.

“A steady trickle is presently occurring. He stated, “What we want is a stream and ultimately a flood of investment.”

Instead of depending on borrowing to generate jobs, Nigeria has been attempting to stimulate private investment as the government looks for a way to address slow growth, double-digit inflation, and a significant debt load.

In addition to addressing widespread insecurity, President Bola Tinubu has pledged to boost the economy by at least 6% annually, generate employment, and stabilize the currency rate.

Tinubu removed limitations on trade in foreign currencies and eliminated a popular but expensive gasoline subsidy. Although that led to consumer inflation, Edun said he was optimistic that Nigerians would soon overcome their cost-of-living issue.

On Thursday, Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso stated that he anticipated the economy to grow by 4.17% this year due to continuing reforms and stabilizing inflation.