The future of business activities in Nigeria is largely optimistic, according to a thorough examination of the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) most recent survey.
The Business Expectations Survey (BES) for July 2024, conducted between July 15 and 19, involved 1,600 business enterprises across key sectors such as industry, services, and agriculture, achieving a remarkable 98.9 percent response rate.
The survey revealed that businesses are particularly optimistic about the volume of business activities and employment outlook in August 2024, with indices standing at 14.4 and 8.1 points, respectively.
This positive sentiment is expected to drive job growth across various sectors, notably agriculture, which showed the highest expansion potential at 66.9 percent.
Other sectors with massive growth prospects include construction (56.3 percent), market services (55.2 percent), non-market services (50.9 percent), manufacturing (44.3 percent), and mining & quarrying (30.0 percent).
Despite the promising outlook, the survey also highlighted several challenges faced by businesses, with insecurity ranking as the top concern. High interest rates, insufficient power supply, high and multiple taxes, and issues of extortion and corruption were also cited as impediments to business growth.
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