POTICO - Agricultural Event, June 1-2, 2010

On June 1-2 in Lagos, we celebrated the 3rd annual POTICO event, or POTICO III, to again focus on the need to development Nigeria's agricultural sector. POTICO means the Partnership on Trade, Industry, and Commerce and it is a tripartite effort among the Bank of Industry (BOI), the U.S. Mission to Nigeria, and First Bank (one of the leading banks in Nigeria). This year's POTICO stressed the importance of agricultural infrastructure development. Four U.S. Government agencies participated in POTICO this year, along with such Nigerian headline leaders such as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Group Managing Director (GMD) and CEO of First Bank. Innovative private sector companies such as MARKETS, the NGO CDC Development Solutions, and a leading Nigerian entrepreneur who was featured in Time Magazine for his efforts in agricultural, also made presentations. The goal from this POTICO is to have deliverables such as better web-based and mobile access to information, and expand BOI representation through Nigeria. The 2009 deliverable for POTICO was the establishment of the U.S.-BOI AGOA Resource Center on Lagos Island.