Tinubu Guarantees Robust Financial System as Coca-Cola Invests $1 Billion into Nigeria 

President Bola Tinubu has restated his administration’s commitment to building a strong financial system and a business-friendly economy that would attract more foreign direct investment.

The President made the commitment on Thursday in Abuja, as the Coca-Cola Company revealed intentions to increase its investment in Nigeria to $1 billion over the next five years.

The announcement was made during a meeting between the President and a Coca-Cola team led by Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, and John Murphy, President of Coca-Cola Company.

President Tinubu praised Coca-Cola for its long-standing engagement with Nigeria and for fostering investment possibilities, which had employed over 3000 people across nine manufacturing locations.

“We are business-friendly, and as I said at my inauguration, we must create an environment of easy-in and easy-out for businesses.

“We are building a financial system where you can invest, re-invest and repatriate all your dividends. I have a firm belief in that,” he said.

President Tinubu informed members that private-sector partnerships, which sustain investments, were key to his government’s broad measures to improve the economic environment.

He promised that the government would continue to work with Coca-Cola to increase investments in Nigeria and address environmental concerns, such as climate change.

“The size of this country is enormous in Africa, and the consumption capacity of Nigeria is expanding daily,” Tinubu added.

He commended the company for scaling up its skill development and community initiatives as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Presenting an overview of Coca-Cola’s business in Nigeria, Murphy noted that the company generated ₦320 billion annually through nearly 300,000 customers.

He said that the company also contributed almost ₦90 billion in revenue to the Nigerian government.

“We are very proud of the growth of the business over a long period and its impact on the daily lives of many Nigerians.

“Beyond the financial impacts, we are also very committed to supporting the communities, and over the last number of years, we’ve had a special focus on several areas in the world of sustainability, water packaging and others,” he said.

Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, explained that the company’s confidence in Nigerian government policies had encouraged it to make the 1 billion dollar investment pledge.