Brain drain: Nigerians are returning to build companies at home

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, has said that the exit of many Nigerians to the U.S. is now yielding positive results for Nigerians as many of them are returning to establish businesses in the country.

Adeyemo disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking to the media during his visit to some tech founders at the Vibranium Tech City in Lagos.

The Deputy Secretary of Treasury who is in Nigeria to deepen bilateral relations between the two countries said he has met with many Nigerian Americans who have just returned to the country to set up businesses.

Speaking against the backdrop of many Nigerians leaving the country for the U.S. for better opportunities, Adeyemo said part of the reasons he is visiting Nigeria was to create opportunities for Nigerians living in Nigeria.

Opportunities in Nigeria

While noting that the U.S. mission is to let Nigerians realize the opportunities in Nigeria and take advantage of it, Adeyemo said:

“Today, I had an opportunity to meet with a number of Nigerian Americans who have actually moved back to Nigeria to start companies. And I think what you’re seeing is that more and more opportunity is being created here in Nigeria and part of the reason I’m here in Nigeria now is because we want to partner with Nigeria to make sure that the talent that exists here has the opportunity to grow
“We want to drive investments in small, medium, and large enterprises, we want to help grow an economy that works for Nigeria. Three out of five Nigerians are under the age of 25 and by 2050, Nigeria will be 400 million people bigger than the United States of America.
“We don’t only share economic prospects, but we share values with more than 500,000 Nigerian Americans who go between Nigeria and America on a regular basis. Our goal is to make sure that the talented people who live here in Nigeria have the opportunities to realise their dreams here and to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in Nigeria.”

Removing barriers to investment

Adeyemo noted that the American government would work with the Nigerian government to ensure that barriers to investments between the two countries are removed. This, he said, was to ensure that investors in both countries have easy access to the markets.

“I am excited to be here today because it has given me a chance to see Nigeria and Innovation at its best and to see the innovative companies that are being built here and I agree with you there’s so much potential here in Nigeria.
American investors and American companies want to be partners in doing that work. We want to make sure that we’re partnering with the government to remove barriers to make sure that Nigerian investors have the ability to access the US markets and that American investors have the ability to access the Nigerian market. We’re encouraged by the early steps of the new Nigerian administration, and we look forward to working with them to do just that,” he said.

The Deputy Treasury Secretary, who was taken on a tour of tech startups at the Vibranium Tech City said he was impressed with the various innovative solutions Nigerians are coming up with, which are capable of transforming the country and addressing several challenges it is currently facing.

What you should know

On March 26, 2021, Wally Adeyemo was sworn in as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. He has been at the centre of many of the country’s major economic policy decisions since the 2008 Financial Crisis and has worked in organizations across the public, private, and non-profit sectors to build a stronger and fairer economy.

Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, Adeyemo immigrated to California’s Inland Empire as a young child with his parents, an educator, and a nurse. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and Yale Law School.

As Deputy Secretary, Adeyemo serves as the Treasury Department’s number two official and chief operating officer.

Adeyemo has taken a leading role in Treasury’s national security, economic inequality, and pandemic-related economic recovery work while supporting the Secretary in driving the Department’s fundamental mission: promoting economic growth and ensuring the financial security of the United States.

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