At a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade László Szabó said that the Southward Opening strategy announced last March has already yielded tangible results in Nigeria: as a result of the new policy, cooperation agreements have been concluded between two Nigerian and two Hungarian companies.
Mr. Szabó pointed out that Nigeria is Africa’s growth engine, and – on the side of South Africa – it is also an important partner to Hungary. The current cooperation agreements provide excellent possibilities to Hungarian companies to enter the African market with their technologies and know-how.
As a result of the cooperation between the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria and the Hungarian Agrár-Bioetanol Ltd, a biogas power plant with a capacity of 1.2 MW will be constructed on the university’s grounds, and the software-developer NNG Ltd. will sell one thousand navigation software to its Nigerian partner, Pajuno Ltd. active in the IT sector.
CEO of Agrár Bioetanol Ltd said that the total investment volume of the power plant will amount to some EUR 20 million, and the project will build upon the infrastructural possibilities already established by the university.
According to current plans, the power plant will start operating within twelve to fourteen months. It will produce electricity with a by-product of hand sanitizer liquid. In terms of the agreement, the university will contribute to the project financially, and it will also provide help in adapting to local circumstances and in acquiring the necessary licences for the technology.
Mr. Molnár said that Hungary’s only bioenergy farm was constructed by Agrár-Bioetanol Ltd, furthermore, the company took part in the construction of two biogas and four other power plants. He added that the bioenergy farm saves over twenty-three tons of carbon annually.
The agreement on the biogas power plant was signed by CEO István Molnár and Professor of the Zaria University Ibrahim Garba.
Signatory to the other cooperation agreement, Operational Director of NNG Ltd. Péter Szombathelyi said that the Nigerian market is a good location for the company’s products, as there are about twenty-one million cars on Nigerian roads.
In the field of navigation systems that can be installed into vehicles in retrospect, the NNG Ltd. is market leader with a market share of seventy per cent. The company’s strategy since its foundation has been to be first in the markets not covered by navigation services, Mr. Szombathelyi said, adding that they also expect the Nigerian market to expand quickly.
The agreement between NNG Ltd. and the Nigerian Pajuno Ltd. was signed by Operational Director Péter Szijjártó and CEO Patrick Jude Mbano, who emphasised that the products to be delivered by NNG Ltd. will not only yield financial benefits, but will also contribute to increasing security.