CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
With a population of 150 million people growing annually at 2%, Nigeria faces serious challenges in infrastructure development. Authoritative sources on the current status of infrastructure in the country have estimated a deficit of $500 billion to $1 trillion in the strategic areas that must be transformed to ensure steady growth and development in the next 10 years. The federal and state governments have historically bankrolled the majority of infrastructure projects in Nigeria . With this magnitude of deficit, it is clear that the government needs private capital to complement its investment efforts.
In response to the above challenge, the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization of the Americas (NIDOA) will assemble experts at its 2010 World Conference in New Jersey, USA, from April 9 - 10, 2010, to explore opportunities for financing viable infrastructure development projects in Nigeria . The mission is to attract required financial resources through Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and Long Term Loans from financial institutions in New York, New Jersey and environs.
The deficit in infrastructure investments creates an unprecedented opportunity for private equity fund managers and limited partners who wish to expand their investment portfolio into this new asset class that promises attractive and stable returns on investment. Despite the risks of investing in a relatively new asset class, there are many elements of infrastructure deals that make them attractive as a long term investment especially for public pension funds. Amid increasingly volatile market conditions, the counter-cyclical nature of infrastructure investments makes them even more desirable. To succeed in this market, Funds will need to combine increasingly large sums of long-term capital with specialist approaches to investment and asset management.
The 2010 NIDOA World Conference will examine infrastructure from the perspectives of both fund managers and investors. Seasoned practitioners will discuss specific aspects of public-private equity infrastructure investment opportunities in carefully planned panel and interactive workshop sessions. By bringing together world-class experts to explore a rigorous and well-structured agenda, the conference will deliver vital information and market intelligence and also facilitate networking opportunities and dialogue among key professionals and stakeholders in the infrastructure industry.
