The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Chamber

  • Chamber organises business improvement training

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) in collaboration with the Bervidson Group has concluded its one-day Business Process Improvement (BPI) training for stakeholders drawn from various industries and businesses.

    Speaking with The Nation after the training, which held in Lagos, during the week, Bervidson Group President Joseph Ebata said no BPI initiative would last without being sustained by an improvement culture driven by training.

    Ebata, who said organisations were struggling to survive in the face of many challenges, noted that they must constantly innovate to become more competitive and also meet customers’ changing expectations.

    According to him, about 85 per cent of reasons for not meeting customers’ expectations are related to deficiencies in systems and processes rather than employees.

    Ebata, therefore, argued that for organisations to succeed, they must constantly seek to improve their business processes to be more responsive to the changing expectation of today’s customers.

    The workshop, he noted, focused on how organisations could improve their processes, product/service quality, and reduce costs significantly in order to increase effectiveness and efficiency without compromising customer satisfaction.

    According to him, the workshop employed the eight-step problem solving processes using the ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ and ‘Cause & Effect’ BPI models to show how discerning organisations seeking to innovate their processes for greater effectiveness, efficiency and competitiveness, could successfully move from their current state to the desired state.

    The Director-General, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, Joyce Akpata, said organisations are seeking to innovate and optimise their current processes to increase competitiveness, productivity, employee engagement, customer satisfaction and reduced costs.

    The DG said it was therefore, important for the Chamber to organise a workshop that addresses the concerns and needs of organisations while at the same time pointing them towards successfully undertaking result-oriented business process improvement projects.

     

  • NEPC, Chamber woo American investors to non-oil sector

    THE Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has initiated a partnership with the Nigeria-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) to generate American investment in the non-oil sector.

    Speaking at a meeting with NACC management in Lagos, NEPC Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Segun Awolowo said the initiative was designed to leverage Nigeria’s Diaspora market to broaden export windows for local industries.

    He said the collaboration would facilitate engagement opportunities between American and Nigerian industries under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), thereby encouraging expansion of production capacities, especially in the agriculture and textile industries.

    Awolowo said: “It is for us to leverage on NACC on how to increase trade in the U.S. and we are looking at the AGOA African Growth Opportunity Act which Nigeria has not been very high on. We want the chamber to help us facilitate more business to business meetings particularly from American companies and get them to invest in Nigerian industries so that we can increase production of our goods for export.

    “We are also looking at working with them on our programme called the Nigeria Diasporas Export Programme which leverages Nigerians in the Diaspora. We have used the Diasporas mainly as a point of remittance but we have to look at them as an economy in every nation in which they reside because they eat and buy clothes. So why can’t it be Nigerian ones, so there is a lot to do with the chamber increasing non-oil trade.

    “Our mission is to make sure that AGOA is private sector driven and work very closely with government to make sure that the AGOA strategy is signed and then we can activate and get clusters of exporters to harness then and earn foreign exchange for the country.”

  • Saraki inaugurates panel to probe invasion of chamber

    •Senate President pledges to bring perpetrators to book

    SENATE President Bukola Saraki yesterday inaugurated a joint Senate and House of Representatives committee to investigate the April 18 invasion of Senate Chamber.

    Members of the committee, including Senate Leader Senator Ahmed Lawan, Senators Abu Ibrahim, John Owan Enoh, Shehu sani, Samuel Anyanwu, Suleiman Hunkuyi, Baba Kaka Garbai and Binta Garba, will be chaired by Deputy Senate Leader Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah.

    Saraki said the Senate Ad Hoc Committee was inaugurated to investigate the incident of the Senate chamber invasion on Wednesday, April 18.

    He noted that the events of April 18, will go down as “one of the darkest days of our democracy”.

     

     

     

  • Chamber of Commerce hails Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business

    Chamber of Commerce hails Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) has hailed the Executive Order aimed at changing the ways business are conducted in the country.

    In a statement signed by LCCI President, Mrs. Nike Akande, the Chamber appreciated the level of consultations on ease of doing business that preceded the signing of the orders.

    The statement maintained that the three main pillars of the executive orders namely promotion of transparency and efficiency in the business environment, support for local contents in public procurement by the Federal Government, and efficient operation and implementation of the federal budget, have been key focus areas of LCCI advocacy campaign over the last few years.

    LCCI noted that the executive orders will impact the ease of doing business, fast-track budgetary administration as well as promote made in Nigeria products. It urged the government to ensure that stipulated timelines are strictly adhered to by all the parties affected by the orders.

    It further asked for continued consultations and engagement with the business community and the bureaucracy in building understanding and buy-in of all stakeholders.

    The advocacy group pledged their preparedness to track the compliance with these orders by relevant Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with follow up compliance and report outcomes and feedback from private sector players on an ongoing basis.

    LCCI called on the State Governments to replicate these reforms as applicable in their respective state. According to the statement, this is required to complement the efforts of the Federal Government on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria.

  • Chamber to proffer solution to $15b infrastructure gap

    The Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCC IMA) has unfolded plans to help the government bridge the infrastructure gap.

    Its Director-General, Mr. Usman Saulawa, said the Chamber would discuss the matter at its 38th International Trade Fair.

    The fair’s theme is:“Promoting public-private partnership as panacea for accelerated growth and development.”

    Noting that the theme was chosen in tandem with realities, Saulawa said  KADCCIMA intended to complement the government’s efforts at restructuring the economy, which is faced with dwindling resources.

    Speaking to reporters in Kaduna, he said the nation required between $12 and $15 billion yearly for six years to meet its infrastructural needs. Hence, the government needed help to actualise it.

    The second Deputy President and Chairman, Main Organising Committee of the Trade Fair, Mr. Suleiman Aliyu, said the economy was plagued by high exchange rates, scarcity of foreign exchange, high inflation rate and closure of businesses which have led to a rise in unemployment .

    He stressed that the government alone could not muster the resources to meet the infrastructural needs, which made it imperative as a Chamber and an advocacy group to partner to galvanise support for a collaboration between the public and private sector.

    On the security at the fair, Aliyu said the government was on top of the situation. Besides, Southern Kaduna, where the security infraction is most visible, is about 200 miles away from the city centre where the fair will hold.

    He assured of the security of lives and property not only in the state, but at the fair ground.

    Aliyu emphasised that the most effective way of building a nation was through partnership between the government and private sector.

    He said a combination of expertise from the private sector and financing support from the government remained the way to galvanise the economy on the path of growth.

  • Chamber mates of recession

    Before you summon, it is probably better to summon oneself to common sense. That may be the summons lacking in the lawmakers last week.

    The Senate, in its parliamentary majesty, summoned the finance minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to appear before its august chamber to explain why the economy was sliding into a recession.

    The lawmakers were led by Senator Bassey Albert Akpan who titled the motion, “An urgent need to address the present economic state of the nation.”

    When did he and his chamber mates know or realise that the economy was in a state of pain? Was this not the same house that dilly-dallied over the budget? Did they not know that an economy without the right directing principles and funds injection would lapse?

    We were all here in this nation when the budget bill, otherwise known as the appropriation bill, was conveyed to the house. Agreed there were some snafus in the exercise and some civil servants presented material not on the original blueprint of the government. When everything was put in place, we still saw a Senate on a snail’s pace.

    An economy will not show patience for any incompetent or foot-dragging lawmaker. The economy is serious business.

    Senator Akpan reeled out some arresting statistics from The National Bureau of Statistics that showed that our economy is not for easy bread and butter, and that we might be in for the lean side of the soup pot. He observed that “from the report, unemployment rate rose to 12.1 percent in Q1 2016 from 10.4 percent in Q5 2015.” That is not good news and Senator Akpan knows it.

    He observed that “underemployment also increased to 19.1 percent from 18.7percent in the same period (the previous quarter) while the rate of inflation rose from 9.6 percent in January 2016 to 13.8 percent in April 2016…” that is not good news and Senator Akpan knows it.

    The other senator of notoriety and Akpan chamber “maid” in this matter was Biodun Olujimi, who backed Senator Akpan on the motion. She asked the CBN chief and finance minister to come with their economic blueprint. Is this wise at all? That had just finished with the budget for the year. While the material was before them, they were busy bellyaching because this year’s budget was not presented with the sort of colourful ceremony that made lawmakers “happy.”

    They delayed the matter on their hands and allowed the economy to stall even further. This, Hardball must state, is not peculiar to this senate. Its predecessors also lumbered over the budget and allowed the ponderous material to linger in committee after committee.

    By the time it is ready, much of the material time to execute budget items has been lost. What it means that by the end of the year, complaints swirl that the executors do not have enough time. More damning, especially this year, is that valuable time is lost, so much so that weather catches up with development. For instance, we are already in June, one of the months of relentless downpour. This is not good for road construction, or infrastructure work of any kind, or for the building of hospitals or the installation of machines in warehouses, schools, hospitals, power plants, etc.

    Senator Akpan and senator Olujimi should learn next time to ask for blueprints at the right time. Their job, more importantly, is to make laws not stall budget and make the economy crawl.

  • Chamber to drive agric with cooperative society

    Chamber to drive agric with cooperative society

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) plans to drive agriculture through its cooperative society to make farmers have easy access to loans.

    Chairman of LCCI Agric and Agro-Allied Group Mr. Adeola Elliott told  reporters in Lagos that the cooperative society is part of the chamber’s integrated agriculture project.

    “We have small farm holders scattered all over and they do not want to remain small farm holders all their lives. They are still small farm holders because their capacity to expand is limited and it is difficult for even banks to give loans to small farm holders. The cooperative society intends to bring all farmers under one umbrella and yet operate independently,” he explained.

    Elliot said as farmers become members of the LCCI Agric and Agro Allied Group and the cooperative society, they automatically will be entitled to loans.

    Elliott said the cooperative society will also be used to confront the government and ensure that loans for farmers get to the real farmers.

    He said this way, farmers would be sure that whatever assistance coming from the government would be spread to them as members, unlike now that loans for farmers would be given to non farmers.

    Elliott noted that the cooperative society is open to big and small farm holders nationwide.

    He said there would be opportunities for farmers with similar produce to come together and get a tractor to plough their lands, which would be cost effective.

    According to him, ordinarily small farm holders will not be able to hire a tractor because of the cost, but when they come together, it would be cheaper.

    In a related event, the LCCI has empowered 70 mentees at its yearly mentoring programme for young entrepreneurs.

    The gesture was in recognition of the key roles entrepreneurs play in a nation’s economy.

    LCCI President Dr. Nike Akande said the mentoring complements the Chamber’s mission to promote and protect the interests of its members and the business community through public policy advocacy, creation and facilitation of investment opportunities, provision of business development services and observance of the highest standards of business ethics.

    Mrs Akande, who spoke at the  LCCI entrepreneurship programme, noted that quality human capital can be a major driver of sustainable economic transformation, pointing out that people are important to make things happen in any system.

    She said the initiative was aimed at contributing to the development of the  youth and also to facilitate their self-discovery. She said this was the way to harness the huge human capital potential, which the youthful population offers.

    Mrs Akande added that the mentoring programme started three years ago with 25 mentees, and that by the end of 2015, the chamber had trained and mentored 93 young entrepreneurs most of whom are doing very well in their various spheres of enterprise.

    “Today, we are admitting another set of seventy young Nigerians who will be graduates of this programme in the next six months. I am pleased to inform you that the council of the LCCI only recently approved the admission of the graduates of our mentoring programme into the membership of the chamber on very concessionary terms. The idea is to nurture the next generation of businessmen and women,” she said.

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, represented by the State Coordinator of the Ministry, Mr. Wale Shado, praised the leadership of the Chamber for the strategic initiative.

    He described the programme as “apt and timely” when viewed against the backdrop of the present administration’s agenda on employment generation and youth empowerment for sustainable development.

    The minister said the Federal Government planned to provide experiences and opportunities for youths and adults to bring forth the best within them to constantly develop and enhance their abilities and take responsibilities to make positive contributions to their communities.

    LCCI Director-General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, reiterated that the  programme has been a huge success. He noted that this batch of mentees would have a similar and even better experience.

    He stressed that the mentoring has been further enriched to empower young entrepreneurs on building capacity, access to market and to create an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive. Yusuf said this year, the chamber would be involving more credible private sector partners to improve experience sharing.

  • Enugu Chamber of Commerce hails Dangote Group

    Enugu Chamber of Commerce hails Dangote Group

    The Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Power (ECCIMA) has hailed the Dangote Group for establishing cement plants across Africa, describing the conglomerate as an emerging global player from Africa.

    President of ECCIMA Ugochukwu Chime spoke at the weekend during Dangote Group’s special day at the 27th Enugu International Trade Fair.

    He hailed the group for operating in almost every sector of the economy while adding value to the growth of the economy.

    Chime said more of Dangotes is what Nigeria needs to be an industrial giant globally, adding that the challenges facing the country presents opportunity to investors to do business in Nigeria.

    He said: “Dangote Group has gone beyond being a Nigerian conglomerate to an African conglomerate operating in many countries across the continent. It has demystified the production process, perfected backward integration and in years to come will become a global player, deepening the creation of wealth and employment generation.”

    “Dangote business and entrepreneurship indulgence has spread to many parts of the African continent, employing thousands of people across the world of which not less than 85 per cent are Nigerians.”

    Regional Sales Director, Southeast, Dangote Cement, Tunde Mabogunje, who led the Dangote Group team, said the group grew from a trading company to an integrated manufacturing conglomerate and succeeded in making Nigerian self-sufficient in goods that were imported in the past.

  • Chamber reveals award winners

    The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has announced winners of the 2016 Excellence Awards.

    Its President, Mr. Tony Ejinkeonye, said the chamber represents the interests of the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

    He said the award was born out of the need to institute a sustainable and enduring award process with established and clearly defined criteria and metrics which shall equitably apply to all organisations in any category under consideration at any point in time.

    Ejinkeonye added that the award, which was designed to recognise the achievements of winners, was also meant to promote and encourage other organisations to emulate their resilience and ability to succeed.

    He said the choice of winners and the metrics used in their selection were not determined by the Chamber, but by a team of professional business intelligence report experts and consultants.

    The ACCI president further stated that the award was an avenue to express the support of ACCI to the Federal Government’s efforts in diversifying Nigeria’s economic base and shift attention away from crude oil.

    The awards were in the following categories: Investor of the Year, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Company of the Year, Most Innovative Business Idea, Outstanding Company (Commerce) and Outstanding Company (Industry).

  • Chamber welcomes turnaround in economy

    Chamber welcomes turnaround in economy

    Abuja Chamber of Commerce has hailed the peaceful conclusion of the presidential election and the declaration of Gen Mohummadu Buhari (rtd) as president elect. It said  this has had immediate turnaround in economic activities in the country.

    In a statement endorsed by its Vice President,  Media,  Jude Igwe, it said the business community is looking forward to the implementation of the economic policies promised by Gen. Buhari stating that the community is confident that with his pedigree as a strict disciplinarian, the economy will be run with discipline, leaving no room for waste or frivolities.

    He said: “We are looking forward to seeing a strong team, made of serious minded and patriotic individuals that will bring not only their wealth of experience but also their love for the country into play.

    “The private sector has been so concerned with the negative trends that have persisted for the past couple of weeks leading to the elections.