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  • NACC seeks ABUAD’s partnership on duty-free export

    NACC seeks ABUAD’s partnership on duty-free export

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) is seeking collaboration with Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) in the export of agriculture, health, engineering, among other sectors.

    Its President, Alhaji Sheriff Balogun, made the request during a visit to the university.

    Balogun described ABUAD as a well-planned institution with one of the best industrial parks and multi-systems.

    “Agriculture is the backbone and lifeline of any country in the world. Any country that does not give priority to agriculture is doomed.

    “I have been to many universities in and outside Nigeria, but I have not seen a university like Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti. I have not seen a well-planned university like ABUAD. I have not seen a university with a collection of many Green Houses like ABUAD.

    “I was at the industrial park. I saw garri, fufu, rice, poundo yam and ogi industries. If we work together, we will have the first shipment of these quality agricultural products to the United States of America before long – all exportation tax-free.

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    “I am the President of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, an association that has been in existence since 1960.

    ‘’We all know that no country, no people can survive without food. Indeed, without food, it may be difficult to have the world,’’ the president said.

    Balogun said NACC was ready to assist the university in promoting its herbal drugs, ‘’particularly as we promote excellence as a body.’’

    Founder of ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, praised the chamber for the encomiums and sought the assistance of the chamber for establishment of a free trade zone, which he said he had applied for but had not got.

    He said: “I have always believed that God’s time is the best. God’s time has come today. Today is the day the Lord has made, and we are glad and rejoicing in it. I have been on this planet earth for almost 100 years now. This is the happiest day of my life. Indeed, I am short of words. I am moved. I don’t know if we have a forward-looking organisation like the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce that is not only watching us, but that is thinking the way we are thinking.

    “There is no one in the world that does not like good things. I like good things and I work daily towards achieving good things. That was why I started this university some 15 years ago after my seven-year stint as the Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos (UNILAG). You have made my day indeed.’’

    The nonagenarian said no Chinese, Japanese, or American ‘’can develop the country for us.

    “We all must come together, brace and develop the enormous potential we have in this country,’’ the founder added.

    Babalola thanked NACC for “the Lifetime Achievement Award in Education, Law, Healthcare, Agriculture, Community Development and Philanthropy’’ for his “extra-ordinary contributions in various areas of human endeavour.”

  • NACC makes N69.7m

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) recorded N69.7 million revenue in 2018, surpassing the N40.3 million revenue it recorded in 2017.

    About 69 per cent of the N69.7 million revenue came from members’ due and self-financing, with members’ due generating N19.3 million and self-financing yielding N28.8 million.

    NACC President, Mr. Toyin Akomolafe, who reeled out the figures during the chamber’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, said in the past three years, the NACC  improved its financial performance.

    Reviewing the chamber’s activities in 2018, Akomolafe said it engaged in topical issues, using the monthly breakfast meeting as a platform to discuss, interact and network.

    According to him, the chamber had  eight breakfast meetings, cutting across logistics, telecoms, oil and gas, real estate, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), among others.

    He said guest speakers at such meetings were drawn from the Lagos Business School; Nigerian Shippers Council; MainOne Cable; Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority; Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board; Nextzon Business Services and General Electric.

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    Akomolafe, however, said the most remarkable of these meetings were the launch of the Property, Construction and Infrastructure Business Group of the chamber and the social impact of the American businesses in Nigeria in partnership with the American Business Council.

    He said as part of the campaign for  capacity building, training were held for members and non-members, which covered various businesses, leadership and marketing skills. According to him, the past year witnessed a number of trainings as an improvement from 2017.

    “We shall continue to improve on our training offerings through partnership with experienced training facilitators in meeting the skills gap in the marketplace,” Akomolafe said.

    He also said the chamber led its trade mission to Washington DC.

    The mission, the president said, featured business to business interaction with the Nigerians in Diaspora on business opportunities, meetings with United States’African Development Foundation and Centre for International Private Enterprises.

    Akomolafe added that the delegates also participated in the Africa Trade and Investment Global Summit (ATIGS), pointing out that there was also an inward trade mission to the Chamber in May, with five companies from the US.

  • NACC for US trade forum

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) is to lead delegates on a trade mission to the United States, to deepen members’ knowledge of technologies to boost their businesses.

    The five-day trade forum themed “Turning promises to action” is expected to bring together private and public sectors.

    It is designed to attract businesses in areas such as Information Technology (IT), Banking, Agric Tech, and Cloud technology solutions, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation, Blockchain, and Smart Contracts, among others.

    NACC’s Communication Executive, Ebuka Ugochukwu, said the trade mission was the Chamber’s  commitment to promoting the development of trade, commerce, investment and industrial/technological relationship between the private and public sectors.

    Ugochukwu said the trade mission had been scheduled for April 28-May 3, adding that delegates would be hosted by the Silicon Valley Nigeria Economic Development Inc.

    He also said there would be  meetings with Silicon Valley top executives, angel investors and venture capitalists in IT; Silicon Valley Organisations (Chambers of Commerce; Silicon Valley Tech Companies; the Mayor of San Jose amongst others.

    According to him, delegates would leverage the Chamber’s initiative to meet new international buyers and distributors, expand into new markets, exchange market knowledge, network, gain insight from industry experts and promote their businesses across border.

    NACC has been organising trade missions to the US. Last year, the Chamber led delegates to Washington DC, where it recorded successes in new deals and investments.

    According to Ugochukwu, this year, the Chamber was poised to fulfil its objective of linking businesses in the coiuntry to global enterprises. This, he said, would create business opportunities for participating delegates.

     

  • Chamber holds annual dinner, inducts president

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), has concluded plans to hold the 2018 Annual Dinner Dance. The annual dinner which would also witness the Inauguration of the 18th President of the Chamber is slated to hold this December.

    The Communication Executive of the chamber, Ebuka Ugochukwu said the annual dinner dance would present an opportunity for members of the chamber and guests to interact in a relaxed environment, while networking and discussing initiatives to further encourage cross border trade and investments.

    Ugochukwu said the evening would also witness the inauguration of the 18th President of the Chamber, Oluwatoyin Akomolafe.

    According to him, Akomolafe was the Deputy President, NACC prior to his election as the current President, NACC. He was the Chairman, Index Brook Limited and had devoted his career to nurturing of Index Brook into a group of companies operating in different Countries, providing consultancy services, project management and engineering services to the major oil and gas companies in the industry and across the world.

    These companies he disclosed include Index Brook Nigeria, Index Brook Guyana, Canyon Offshore Mozambique, Pasedena Exploration and Production, Index Brook Angola and Index Brook Ghana

    Akomolafe was also an active member of societies, social clubs, and professional associations; Christian Friends Society; Arch Bishop Vining Memorial Church, the Metropolitan Club; Regents Park Club, London; West Lake Country Club, Houston; Negotiation and Conflict Management Group amongst others.

    The Nigerian-American chamber of commerce he recalled was the first and oldest bilateral chamber of commerce in Nigeria and for more than 58 years on, the chamber had grown into a dynamic organization.

    According to him, NACC stands as a pillar of the relationship between the United States of America and Nigeria, serving as an important catalyst in bringing together people and ideals to strengthen bilateral commercial relations between Nigeria and the United States.

    The chamber had facilitated business-to-business relationships and advanced economic cooperation between Nigeria and the United States through the promotion of business and services that improved trade relations and prosperity of both nations, he stated adding the chamber is committed to providing programs and services that would improve economic prosperity and sustainability of businesses in the country.

  • NACC, Facebook train 50 SMEs

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), in collaboration with Facebook and Digivate 360 have trained over 50 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on leveraging digital media to grow their businesses.

    Communications Executive at NACC, Ebuka Ugochukwu, in a statement  in Lagos, said the training attracted participants from various sectors of the SME value chain.

    The statement said it had become imperative that the chamber should include SMEs in its business model.

    “We have come to understand that SMEs are the backbone of any economy.

    “We do expect that as these businesses grow, they will be able to contribute more to the economy and leverage the connections and opportunities that we provide them to scale up,’’ the statement read.

    It recalled that when the Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg visited Nigeria in 2016, one of his objectives was to see how Facebook could empower SMEs in the country.

    The statement added that the objective resonated with the chamber’s commitment to empower businesses with digital skills to grow, manage their brands and increase revenue, amongst others.

    “As a Chamber which stands as a pillar of the relationship between the U.S. and Nigeria, and also serving as an important catalyst in bringing together people and ideals to bolster bilateral commercial relations between the two countries, it is very important that people know how we are changing the business landscape, so they can reach out to us on how we can help them scale up,’’ it said.

    The statement added that the training was still ongoing; that its first phase had just been concluded, and the advanced stages of the training would continue soon.

    The NACC is the first and oldest bilateral chamber of commerce in Nigeria.  It was established in 1960 to enhance business relations between the United States and Nigeria.

     

  • NACC seeks better tariffs

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) is pushing for favourable tariffs.

    Its President, Toyin Akomolafe, said there was the need to create better trade deals for the country to reduce dependency on oil as well as increasing engagement with China.

    He noted that in Nigeria, there is an increase in Chinese investments in infrastructure, and the recent currency swap.

    Akomolafe, who spoke during the chmber’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, observed that the tariffs instituted by the United States President on trade, would have a rippling effect across the globe, especially the tariffs imposed on China.

    He added that a trade war between these economic giants would push African nations, including Nigeria, into harsh financial climates.

    He said: “In Nigeria, we import almost everything from China, if the Chinese have to pay more to trade with the US, those extra expenses would be passed on to Nigerian consumers which would result in imported inflation.”

    According to the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, the global trade volumes would drop by six percent and global real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would fall by 1.4percent, if the US government insists on a 10 percent negotiating position across the board tariff on most things entering the country instead of the average level of two percent

    Akomolafe noted that though influencing trade laws and policy would not be easy, the chamber was working out modalities that would overcome any challenges.

    It is time, he said, to collaborate and draw up ideas that could persuade our trade companions in the US.

    He said Nigeria had been fairly active in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) implementation, seeking more action.

    He expressed the commitment to ensuring that non-oil commodities were exported through AGOA.

    ‘’We are committed to making NACC become the key institution for AGOA and partnering leaders and leading institutions that will move us into a more economical sound future,’’ he said.

    He stressed the need to work together to build capacity for expertise, obtain more sources for financing, providing better networking opportunities and paths to international trade along with expanding our footprint in Nigeria and America.

    He said the chamber would participate in all economic fora and partner leaders and leading organisations that could drive the economy of the country a successful future adding the chamber is committed to providing more networking and business opportunities. This, he believed, would, in effect, raise the country’s profile among American businesses in Nigeria and overseas.

    NACC Membership Committee Chairman, Olufemi Adesanya, said the chamber assists members.

    He said the chamber had created sectoral groups where members could engage, share ideas and knowledge, partner and collaborate. These included the property and construction sector, oil and gas services sector, financial services sector, professional services sector, and the agribusiness services sector.

    According to him, while the property and construction sector is already in place, others would be inaugurated.

     

     

     

     

  • NACC to lead delegation on trade mission to US

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) plans to lead businesses, investors, government representatives across sectors on a trade mission to the United States.

    The mission will see delegates participating in the Africa Trade and Investment Global Summit (ATIGS), featuring over 2,000 participants, 70 countries, 16 economic sectors, 150 speakers and 350 global investors.

    The Chamber said the  mission, scheduled for June, was a yearly commitment in promoting the development of trade, commerce, investment and industrial technological relationships between the public and private sectors of the country and the U.S,  adding the mission will further drive socio-economic growth and development for all.

    According to the statement, the six- day event will see participants involved in sector presentation and round-table business to business (B2B) meetings and engagement with the Nigerian Diaspora Business Community.

    The statement added that the event will offer participants the opportunity to leverage the chamber’s initiative to meet new international buyers and distributors, expand into new markets, exchange market knowledge, network, gain insight from industry experts and promote their business across border as well as further generate new business for their company.

    It said the NACC had been organising trade missions to the US, adding that last year, the Chamber led delegates to Miami Florida, US, recording success stories in new deals and investments.

    This year, the Chamber, in its scope of linking businesses in Nigeria to global enterprises, will not only create business opportunities for participating delegates, but lead a movement of many more success stories.

  • Chamber optimistic of business growth in 2018

    Chamber optimistic of business growth in 2018

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) has expressed optimism that the business environment for the 2018 would be more promising compared to the outgoing year.

    Giving this assurance at the weekend was the National President of NACC, Olabintan Famutimi. He spoke during the annual dinner dance of the Chamber in Lagos.

    Earlier, the Chamber boss had reassured Nigeria would not miss out again on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a legislation he said would enhance market access to the United States for qualifying sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.

    “We have done a lot of training, workshops, sensitisations, we have participated in international foray and we have worked effectively with the United States Aid for International Development (USAID) as we signed, we set up the centre and put a manager under desk and part of the money to set up that desk was provided by the USAID, we are moving and we are showing results already.”

    The Chamber, Famutimi noted, had contributed to the government policy in the Executive Order.

    Specifically, he said the Chamber had achieved among other things the breakfast meetings on ease of doing business, activities of the AGOA programme which according to him has become the focus of driving business in the country and setting up AGOA at the secretariat, and the small and medium enterprises financing conference in partnership with the American Embassy.

    According to him, the Chamber creates value for members continuously and facilitates business-to-business relationships adding the services offered to members include the organisation of trade missions into the two countries, sponsorship of trainings, conferences and seminars addressed by leading authorities in different fields, affording members and non-members a platform for the discussion of topical issues affecting the economy in general.

    He assured that the Chamber would continue to promote the development of trade, commerce, investment and industrial technological relationships between the public and private sectors of the country and the United States. It would also encourage relationships with other Chambers of Commerce in Nigeria and the US as well as promote the establishment of chapters of the chamber throughout Nigeria among others

  • Chamber urges Buhari to hasten economic diversification

    Chamber urges Buhari to hasten economic diversification

    The President, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Chief Olabintan Famutimi, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to hasten the economic diversification strategy of his administration, adding that the era of total dependence on oil is gone for good.

    Famutimi, who spoke with our reporter in Lagos, said the expenditure level of the Federal Government has always been high because of dependence on oil to provide all the funds.

    “Now that oil prices have has fallen and we have many cargoes of crude oil that are floating on the sea, no buyers and revenues are falling, we must embrace the non oil sector. The good news is that we have a government that has been very alarmed by the way the revenue and oil prices that were high; he saw it all and campaigned against the impurity with which we run everything. Excess crude account has been totally depleted more or less, if we now have no money coming in and we continue to spend the way we are spending, we are setting a pace for disaster.”

    He added that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has also helped to curb impunity in the country by blocking leakages.

    “All of us now have to go to the Federal Government account. The TSA was not the idea of President Muhammadu Buhari, it was in the books but they were not enforcing it. They allowed impurity and stealing. People collect revenue from government that comes into their special account, lodge it at banks collect interest, claim it, return those that can be profit, all those ones are being curbed,” he said.

    He said the Bank Verification Number (BVN) has also created a transparent atmosphere and block money laundering.

    “Now, we have to know who owns which account and what happens to each account.

    “A lot of the big funds in the banks have been abandoned, the owners have refused to go and do the BVN so that they will not be traced to be the owner of the money because of the fear of the President Buhari. They now believe that the security services and the relevant agencies with all the banks will not trace the billions to them. Some of them will look at it that if the money is traced to them as a permanent secretary or director in a government department for instance, they will not be able to explain how they came about it. Even though that money is in the name of some companies and it is difficult to trace the ownership of companies, now, any money in a bank can be traced because the company has the human being behind it with thee BVN, since it is biometrics that you have to do. This is why they abandoned the money and a lot of them have run out of this country. A lot of them are afraid that travelling outside the country may not be safe as well, so they are running from pillar to post,” he said.

  • NACC targets FDI in key sectors of economy

    NACC targets FDI in key sectors of economy

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) is working on attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the country through the key sectors of the economy like agriculture, healthcare, and construction, among others.

    The group wants to achieve this by improving bilateral trade and relations between Nigerian business interests and companies based in the United States of America (USA) in these key sectors of the economy.

    As part of activities lined up for the 2015 edition of its biennial US Trade Mission, NACC will also for the first time organise an Award/Gala Night in Atlanta, USA.

    Speaking at a press conference announcing the 2015 trade mission, the National President of the NACC, Olabintan Famutimi, said that aside providing members with opportunities of connecting with potential American partners, this year’s trade mission will also target Nigerians resident in the USA, with a view to getting them to invest in Nigeria.

    “What we have found out is that there are lots of Nigerians in Diaspora that have thriving businesses in the USA. A lot of them want to set up businesses in Nigeria, but they don’t know how to go about it, probably because of the negative publicity about our country. So anywhere we identify as having a high concentration of Nigerians who are now American nationals, we intend to educate and provide them with the necessary information they need to invest here,” he said.