So far, the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB) has injected about  $470 million into project and trade financing operations in various sectors of the Nigerian economy. But in the years to come, the bank plans to do far more than this. President of IDB Group, Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, stated that IDB is not a religious bank but a development finance institution in the mould of African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and promised that in the next three years, the bank will extend a total credit of $4 billion to Nigerian businesses, governments and individuals. Clearly, therefore, the IDB presents a huge funding opportunity to Nigerian businesses, individuals and to the different tiers of government in Nigeria. Interestingly, all the lending of the IDB is based on the non-interest or profit-sharing banking model. In other words, beneficiaries of the IDB facilities do not carry the burden of compound interest on the facilities extended to them.

THE global economic crisis took a toll on Nigeria’s largest 100 companies in 2009. According to the 2009 edition of BusinessWorld 100, an annual publication of BusinessWorld newspaper that focuses on the performance of publicly-held companies in Nigeria, the fortunes of Nigeria’s largest 100 (quoted) companies declined seriously during the year under review.

Nigeria’s Golden Jubilee Business Summit and Cultural Gala Dinner organized by BusinessinAfrica Events in London last week brought together Nigerians and friends of Nigeria (individuals and corportates) from far and wide. It was a great opportunity to celebrate Nigeria at 50 from a business perspective. Ray Echebiri who participated in the summit reports that the consensus was that Nigeria has the potential to be a great nation, but has definitely not become great yet.

FOR me, it remains a trip to remember. There was no single dull moment. It was either that Azu Ishiekwene (then Editor of the Punch, and now executive director of the same newspaper), had literally got lost in Borders Bookshop while combing the large bookshop for books that were possibly out of print or Ibim Semenitari (then Editor of Board Street Journal and now commissioner for Information in River State), had gone out to fetch herself a cup of Starbucks coffee. Lost in thought, Azu and I wondered if her keeping long meant she was negotiating to buy the Starbucks company instead. It was fun all the way as we had the best of the two worlds of work and leisure.

(L-R) Jameel Mohammed, group chief operating officer, Globacom and Olakunle Alake, chief operating officer of Dangote Group at the signing of MoU on the provision of communications solutions to Dangote in Lagos recently.

THE impact of the on-going global economic crisis on Nigeria’s economy will be very heavy as the economy heads for its lowest growth in a decade. In its World Economic Outlook (April 2009) released in Washington D.C, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that the Nigerian economy will only grow by 2.9 per cent this year.