Enterprise Ireland client companies have agreed contracts worth €50 million during a West Africa trade mission led by agriculture minister Simon Coveney.
The agency said a significant number of strong leads for potential sales by Irish exporting companies were also identified during the four-day, three-city mission involving seven networking events in both Nigeria and Ghana.
Enterprise Ireland aims to grow export sales to the region by 60% to €600m by 2018. The two countries have a combined population of over 200 million with Nigeria having the biggest economy in Africa and the 20th largest economy in the world.
Companies who signed deals today included The Institute of Education; water treatment specialist EPS Group; Hybrid Energy Solutions which specialises in the design of hybrid power generating systems; EDC Engineering Design Consultants and ACE Control Systems, a supplier of building energy management systems.
According to Coveney: “This mission is about increasing the profile of Ireland in Nigeria and developing trade and business opportunities across a broad range of goods and services.
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“I am delighted to have been in a position to assist the efforts of these ambitious and dynamic Irish companies, accumulating in over €50m worth of contracts being signed here today and there will I hope be more success stories in the coming days as we continue this trade mission.”
Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, said: “From education to energy, and water treatment to engineering design, Irish companies are competing for lucrative contracts in global markets and winning. The breadth of sectors represented in the contracts announced here are a testament to the competence of Irish innovation and to the strength of Irish business links with Africa, which have been developed on this trade mission.”
Overall, bilateral trade with Nigeria was worth half a billion euro in 2014 (exports €339 million), with Guinness extract the single largest export. Merchandise trade with Ghana was worth €38.7m in 2014 (exports €36.3million).
