- Reveals Factors That Affected Economy In 2023
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has projected that the Nigerian economy may fare better in 2024 as it offers greater stability compared to the difficulties encountered in 2023.
Speaking on the Arise Television Morning Show programme earlier on Thursday monitored by The Matrix, Dr. Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, unveiled several factors that led to his cautiously optimistic outlook.
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“I don’t share the view that 2024 will be worse than 2023. Of course, those challenges will persist, especially for manufacturing.
Challenges around foreign exchange, particularly for manufacturing businesses and even other businesses that have high foreign exchange exposure,” he said.
He noted that the shocks being experienced in the economy today are largely a function of how businesses are exposed to foreign exchange.
“The higher your exposure, the higher the challenges, the higher the shocks. Of course, you also have the issue of high energy costs.
The higher your exposure to energy consumption, the higher the challenges. So again, the shocks and challenges vary from sector to sector.
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Sectors that have very high local content, or sectors that are backwards integrating substantially, are not likely to feel the shocks as much as sectors that are highly import dependent.
These are the variables that will shape the economic environment. But I believe that 2024 should be better than 2023,” he said.
Dr. Yusuf identified the significant transitions experienced in 2023, including the national elections, as a major source of economic uncertainty and disruption.
He further highlighted the challenges posed by the Naira redesign policy in the first quarter and the implementation of two impactful economic reforms, albeit necessary, which caused initial shockwaves within businesses.
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“We had the political transition, which had to do with elections, which came with its issues, which impacted the economy, especially around uncertainty.
And of course, we had the terrible Naira redesign policy, which practically messed up the first quarter, going into the second quarter of 2023.
Then more importantly, we had two major economic reforms, which came with some very severe shocks on the economy, on businesses, which, although necessary, were very painful,” he said.
