GENERAL ELECTRIC
09 MAY 2011
RESPONSE TO ENERGIA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1)
Tell us more about yourself?
Lazarus Angbazo is the President & CEO, of GE
West, East & Central Africa, a position he has
held since October 1st, 2008. In this role, Lazarus
is responsible for developing and expanding the growth
of GE’s businesses across the region. Lazarus
is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Lazarus Joined GE in 2004 and held several leadership
positions within the GE Capital business in the U.S.
From 1997 to 2004, Lazarus worked for JP Morgan Chase,
New York, where he held senior positions in corporate
mergers & acquisitions, strategic planning, and
credit portfolio management. Between 1992 and 1997,
Lazarus was Assistant Professor of Finance at Purdue
University, and also served as Research Director at
Fannie Mae in 1996.
Lazarus was born in Nigeria, and graduated from Ahmadu
Bello University with a B.Sc. in Mathematics (First
Class Honors). He then earned an M.S. degree in Industrial
Engineering & Operations Research from The University
of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in Corporate Finance from New
York University.
2) WEF has proved to be
a very successful event, why is GE participating at
WEF, as in what are the core objectives?
The World Economic Forum on Africa attracts key stakeholders
and customers in the major countries that GE in Africa
operates in.
The focus of this year's WEF included
accelerating the infrastructure initiatives which
are critical to Africa's sustained growth and transformation.
The role of private sector partners was emphasized.
GE's strategy for Africa is to develop customized
solutions based on GE core technology competency applied
to specific infrastructure challenges in energy, transportation,
health care, water and waste-water management, agriculture
and aviation.
GE leverages its global network
of partners to deliver the full complement of solutions
that are needed, working in close partnership with
Africa's governments and indigenous African companies
to ensure full value addition and sustainable development
and transformation.
3) Have you been able to
meet those objectives?
GE's goal in participating in WEF is to learn and
better understand the unique needs of Africa and to
collaborate with our African customers to co-create
the solutions that Africa needs for its development
aspirations.
GE is determined to be Africa's
pre-eminent development partner in the key infrastructure
sectors where GE's core competency and global leadership
is established. To achieve this goal we are constantly
seeking to better understand the development priorities
of African countries and innovating our products and
solutions to meet those needs.
The WEF was an excellent forum to
enhance our understanding and partnerships with African
governments and private sectors.
4) Unconfirmed reports have
it that GE has secured in principle a major power
deal in Nigeria. Would you like to say a few things
about it?
GE has been active in many sectors of Nigeria's economy
over the last 30 years, and under the "Country
to Company" cooperation agreement signed in 2009,
GE's partnership with Nigeria's public and private
sector entities has grown in the power sector as well
as in Railways, Healthcare, Aviation, Oil & Gas,
Water Treatment and Financial Services.
GE has been supporting President
Goodluck Jonathan's Power Sector Reform in Nigeria
and is discussing technical partnerships with several
potential bidders in the privatization program for
the power generation and distribution companies slated
for later this year.
5) What are the overall
plans for GE in West Africa in terms of fitting into
the region’s infrastructure development?
GE is committed to a comprehensive development partnership
with West African governments and private sector players.
We have a framework country to company agreement with
Nigeria which underpins our strategy for full technology
support and joint development of projects across the
full range of infrastructure.
We have greatly accelerated our
relationship and presence in Ghana and are developing
some very exciting project initiatives that will be
transformative in the power sector, healthcare and
the emerging Oil & Gas Industry in Ghana.
We are rapidly building our presence
in Senegal, Guinea, and Cameroon and are constantly
exploring how GE can add value in countries like Cameroon,
Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire.
GE Chairman Jeff Immelt visited
Ghana last year, and Vice Chairman John Rice is visiting
Nigeria and 5 other African countries in May 2011
to reinforce GE's commitment to the African Markets.
Although GE already does about $3.6
revenues in Africa and growing double digit every
year, we view ourselves as a small company in Africa
and believe that Africa is among GE's most important
emerging markets alongside China, India and Brazil.
Our primary goal is simply to be Africa's partner
for infrastructure development.
6) As a Nigerian based publication,
we would like to know how long has GE been operating
in Nigeria and on the African continent?
GE’s roots in Africa are over 100 years old
starting in South Africa and about 40 years in Nigeria.
This gives the company a unique position to provide
wide-reaching solutions and establish long-lasting
partnerships.
In recent years the scale of GE's
operations and the scope of our activities have radically
grown and we are just beginning because we believe
that Nigeria is now finally poised to take-off on
a growth trajectory similar to what the BRIC countries
have done over the last 30 years. So looking ahead,
GE will be growing dramatically to enable it contribute
meaningfully to Nigeria's growth
7) How engaging is the Regulatory
Agency in Nigeria in terms of getting the job done?
GE is working with all the key regulatory agencies
in Nigeria to better understand the running rules
as well as to add value and experience from other
global centres where GE has done work over the last
130 years of the company.
We are getting full cooperation from all the key agencies
including committees of the National Assembly. Indeed
it is a genuine partnership we are striving for and
that requires fully understanding the regulatory goals
and requirements.
8) As a US firm, how easy
has it been doing business in Africa?
Doing business in Africa is not any more difficult
than any other global region and my personal experience
is that it is actually easier because there is so
much opportunity.
We are clear on the value we bring
to Africa. We are steadfast in our business ethics
and compliance culture. We uphold the highest integrity
standards required of both our host countries as well
as US laws and we are resolutely non-negotiable on
issues of transparency or corruption.
Our experience is that leaders who
are truly committed to bringing real development to
their people and want certainty of execution with
highest value-added, always turn to GE.
Our differentiation is primarily
our reputation for integrity, certainty of execution
and technology excellence. These attributes make our
business easy in any market, especially in Africa.
9) Finally what are your
expectations in the coming decade of doing business
in Africa generally and Nigeria specifically?
GE's confidence in Africa is second to none. We are
so convinced about the future of Africa and Nigeria
in particular that we are investing more people, more
capabilities and more partnerships in these markets.
Our chairman, Jeff Immelt ,has said
that he expects emerging markets to contribute 80%
of GE's growth over the next decade. He believes that
Africa and in particular Nigeria, Angola and South
Africa will be the key drivers although we see tremendous
new platforms in Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon,
Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe. GE is without a doubt
very bullish on Nigeria and Africa.
