President Bola Tinubu who is observing a two-week break in Europe has authorised his Vice President Kashim Shettima to represent him in Sweden where Nigeria expected to hold bilateral talks with the Scandinavian nation.
President Tinubu departed Abuja on October 2 for a private visit to London and Paris as part of his annual vacation. Shettima will spend two days in Sweden leaving the country grappling with economic crisis without presidential authority.
During his stay in Sweden Vice President Shettima will engage in high-level bilateral talks with key government officials, including a meeting with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the Swedish Prime Minister.
Senator Shettima will use the visit to explore opportunities for strengthened collaboration between Nigeria and Sweden in areas such as ICT, innovation, education, digitalisation, sustainable transport, mining, and agriculture.
The Vice President will also meet with Norrsken, a Stockholm-based venture capital impact investor, which recently launched Norrsken22, a USD 205 million tech investment fund for Africa.
“Norrsken22 is a technology growth fund, backed by over 30 prominent unicorn founders, partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs building Africa’s next tech giants.
“The meeting with Norrsken will provide insights into how Nigerian entrepreneurs can benefit from this fund and further strengthen the technology ecosystem in Nigeria.
“Notably, 40% of the investments from Norrsken22 are expected to be allocated to Nigerian technology entrepreneurs.
“Twelve (12) Nigerian private sector companies that are doing business with Sweden are going independently as a private sector bloc”, said a statement signed by senior special assistant to the Vice President on media and communications Stanley Nkwocha