Hi there,

This is my first post here. I've unsuccessfully looked for a topic looking like this one. Before going ahead, I'd like to introduce myself.
I'm a Cameroon national and I've been working in France since 2000. I've a Bsc in Computer Science and I've recently achieved an executive master in corporate finance and capital market. I have move than 12 years of experience.

I've worked 6 yrs in the IT industry and software designer/developer. Since 6 yrs, I'm working in the finance industry. I spent the first 4 yrs as a financial engineer on a trading desk for a top French investment bank. I moved 2 yrs ago for another French investment bank as a manager in a business analyst team. In parallel, I started an executer master in finance in a top French university, my aim is to go back home (Africa).

I guess the time has come for me to go back to Africa. Living here in Europe has no sense for me, as I think I'd be more useful in my continent. As you can guess, my first idea has been to look for jobs in Cameroon. But as you know Nigeria is the closest neighbour and the first economic partner of Cameroon. I think I more would feel home in Nigeria than in any European country.

My main skills are in IT, corporate finance and capital market. I'm looking for a job in the consulting or finance/banking industry in Nigeria. What range of salary should I expect ? Do someone know how I should do to easily find a job in Naija ?

Yes I know, I'm not a Naija national, don't be rough with me.

depemer: Hi there,

This is my first post here. I've unsuccessfully looked for a topic looking like this one. Before going ahead, I'd like to introduce myself.
I'm a Cameroon national and I've been working in France since 2000. I've a Bsc in Computer Science and I've recently achieved an executive master in corporate finance and capital market. I have move than 12 years of experience.

I've worked 6 yrs in the IT industry and software designer/developer. Since 6 yrs, I'm working in the finance industry. I spent the first 4 yrs as a financial engineer on a trading desk for a top French investment bank. I moved 2 yrs ago for another French investment bank as a manager in a business analyst team. In parallel, I started an executer master in finance in a top French university, my aim is to go back home (Africa).

I guess the time has come for me to go back to Africa. Living here in Europe has no sense for me, as I think I'd be more useful in my continent. As you can guess, my first idea has been to look for jobs in Cameroon. But as you know Nigeria is the closest neighbour and the first economic partner of Cameroon. I think I more would feel home in Nigeria than in any European country.

My main skills are in IT, corporate finance and capital market. I'm looking for a job in the consulting or finance/banking industry in Nigeria. What range of salary should I expect ? Do someone know how I should do to easily find a job in Naija ?

Yes I know, I'm not a Naija national, don't be rough with me.

First, I think that you would need a work permit before you are allowed to work in Nigeria. Remember, AU does not share the close relationships that EU countries share.

Now, you sound more like a trader to me. Your experience in IT and on the trading floor actually says it all. What did you trade in at your former place of work? Options, Features, Swaps? Meanwhile, I am struggling to see how you pass for a corporate finance manager. You never mentioned having a direct experience working in a corporate finance team. Or are you implying that you are vast in the corporate finance courses you learnt at graduate school? What were your roles as a business analyst? To my mind, and using friends who are business analysts as a reference point, business analysis and corporate finance only meet at very few points. That someone is a business analyst does not mean that he can perform the job of a corporate finance analyst. I also know that working as a trader requires more of quantitative technical analysis than fundamental analysis, which is the core of corporate financial advisory.

Anyway, salary will depend on the 'direct' applicability of your previous work experience while in Europe and also your most recent salary. If I guess correctly, your last base salary was between 70-80K Euros. If that be the case, then most tier 2 investment banks in Nigeria may struggle to pay you that much, especially if you cannot convincingly prove to them that you can bring in many cross-border deals worth millions of dollars. But the likes of Stanbic IBTC (Standard Bank), Standard Chartered and co should be able to match your abroad salary.

My advice for you is to first be aware that you cannot easily find a job in Nigeria. This is far from meaning that you cannot get jobs in Nigeria, it just means that the jobs are not readily available for grabs. You will have to fight to get one. Nonetheless, I believe that people like you should be valued by any sensible thinking organization. A non-Nigerian like you, one Ghana man like that, was a corporate finance manager at one of the multinational banks in Nigeria for 2 years and then an investment manager for ARM, a Nigerian based investment firm, for another two years before he went back to Ghana to work as a senior manager at Barclays. So, anything is possible.

Now, to scout for corporate finance jobs, you need to speak to investment banks like RenCap, Vetiva, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered and the likes. In fact, information reaching me has it that a corporate finance manager just left one of the above banks for one of the above banks! Thus, a vacancy for a corporate finance manager should naturally exist if and only if the said bank does not decide to promote from within..Perhaps, the opportunity has been waiting for you to come and take advantage of, who knows?

Do me an email through nairaland. If you can really prove your direct experience in corporate finance, then you 'may' just get an interview with one of the banks in SA/Naija/that also has a presence in London. Oh..I remember you are tired of Europe

T22

First, I think that you would need a work permit before you are allowed to work in Nigeria. Remember, AU does not share the close relationships that EU countries share.

I agree with you and I know I would need some. Even if AU donot share the same relationships that EU countries do, it remains simple. We are not trying to move to Australia...

Now, you sound more like a trader to me. Your experience in IT and on the trading floor actually says it all. What did you trade in at your former place of work? Options, Features, Swaps?

I did not have a trader position, but it was a little bit close to that. My job was to build exotic pricers, realtime risk analysis tools, commodities indexes and sometimes automatic market making systems. That kind of specific job that you can not value anywhere else.

Meanwhile, I am struggling to see how you pass for a corporate finance manager. You never mentioned having a direct experience working in a corporate finance team. Or are you implying that you are vast in the corporate finance courses you learnt at graduate school? What were your roles as a business analyst? To my mind, and using friends who are business analysts as a reference point, business analysis and corporate finance only meet at very few points. That someone is a business analyst does not mean that he can perform the job of a corporate finance analyst. I also know that working as a trader requires more of quantitative technical analysis than fundamental analysis, which is the core of corporate financial advisory.

Once again you're right. I've no real business experience in a corporate finance team, but using my past experience on commodities portfolios and my corporate finance courses, I've designed a grouped loan pattern for African countries. I've tried to propose it for some companies in Cameroon, but things don't seem to go fast over there.
How do I expect to pass from capital markets to corporate finance ? That's why I've done the Master. The courses lasted 2 yrs.
I'm a business analyst in a French IB. I work on risk and P&L explaination. It's more simple than holding a front office role. That point is very usefull to be able to achieve my programme. Yes, business analyst and corporate finance meet at very very few points. I'm not aiming to come and be a business analyst in Africa. I guess I can do more things than that.

Anyway, salary will depend on the 'direct' applicability of your previous work experience while in Europe and also your most recent salary. If I guess correctly, your last base salary was between 70-80K Euros. If that be the case, then most tier 2 investment banks in Nigeria may struggle to pay you that much, especially if you cannot convincingly prove to them that you can bring in many cross-border deals worth millions of dollars. But the likes of Stanbic IBTC (Standard Bank), Standard Chartered and co should be able to match your abroad salary.

You are definitely wise. The range of salary is not far. I'm not asking the companies to pay that much. I know that moving to Africa implies a reduction of net salary, but it might also imply an increase of standard of living. So I'm not trying to match my french salary at any cost, but if I have that opportunity, I'll not say "No".

just a little up, if someone has an answer about the range of possible salaries.