Africa’s youngest billionaire says Nigeria conducive for investments

ABUJA, (Xinhua) -- Africa’s youngest billionaire Ashish Thakkar said Nigeria is a land of opportunities for investors, despite a cornucopia of negative stories reported about it in the media. The Uganda-born billionaire told reporters in Abuja, after a private meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, that he found out the difference between perception and reality is embedded in the huge potentials of Nigeria and the way investments flourish in the West African country, even as the international media are flooded with negative reports. “I think the perception happened to be negative today, but it is a very unfortunate case because when we come here, what we see and what we experience show that Nigeria is a very different place, “ said Thakkar, who holds sway as President of Mara Group Of Companies. According to the 32-year-old billionaire, Nigeria and the 53 other African countries are going through the much-needed transformation which makes the continent to be considered as a fast developing one. “In Nigeria, we may see some few pockets of challenges, but overall, this is a country full of opportunities with people with a lot of energy,” he told reporters.