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Tag: Private sector

  • ADF approves $149m for private sector

    THE African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, has approved $149 million credit risk participations in seven loans under its Private Sector Credit Enhancement Facility (PSF).

    Launched in 2015 by the ADF, the PSF provides credit risk participa-tions in private sector operations of the African Development Bank in low-income countries, and is on its way to building a $1.5 billion portfolio of exposures.

    A statement from the bank said seven operations include senior loans targeting renewable energy and agroindustry sectors in Uganda, Sudan, and Cameroun among others, as well as lines of credit to lenders in Liberia and Mali.

    “These approved operations bring the facility’s total portfolio to over 40 per cent of its $1.5 billion target size and increase the PSF’s footprint to 29 countries. They deliver on our mandate to contribute to development impact through enabling additional financing of private sector projects in low-income countries.”, says PSF Administrator, Cecile Ambert.

    The operations were prioritised in light of their superior expected development results and additiona-lity; particularly in terms of increased access to electricity, food security, and job creation.

  • Council seeks collaboration with private sector

    Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Chairman, Monsuru Bello has promised to support business operators in succeed.

    At the moiden Ejigbo Summit, Bello said there was an urgent need to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive through public private partnership arrangement.

    “The partnership is to offer business owners, captains of industry and corporate organisations opportunity to be part of our success story by partnering with the government in the areas of infrastructural development, programmes adoption and implementation. We are set to transform the life of our community, while we also reinforce a cordial and mutually beneficial relationship between our government and the organised private sector.

    “Our effort is about consolidating the present and creating a win-win platform for all stakeholders. It is about creating jobs, creating wealth and ensuring a strong safety net for generations yet unborn. This is a onerous task that requires the support of the private sector and our target is to make Ejigbo a safe haven for investors,” he said.

    Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Kehinde Bamigbetan said there was the need for friendly policies to encourage the business sector.

    According to him, the summit is a step in the right direction and evidence of the spirit of continuity and what can be gained from policies which makes it easy to do business.

    He urged stakeholders to come together to establish the Ejigbo LCDA Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

    Lagos State Local Government Commission, Chairman Babatunde Rotinwa, said community participation is required for national development.

    “It is imperative to have a comprehensive list and registration of all clubs and social groups within the community and the communities should be encouraged to create neighbourhood forum to serve as meeting place for the people to share views and discuss the problems of their neighbourhood.

    “It is also important to have a continuous public enlightenment campaign machinery to stimulate members of the community to cooperate and participate in programs meant for their wellbeing,” he said.

    The guest lecturer, Prof Pat Utomi, called for collaboration between the local governments and the private sector.

    This, he said, was crucial to the development of any nation.

    According to him, many businesses in the developed countries are thriving because of the collaboration with the local government.

    “Relationship between business and the local government is crucial because it determines the prosperity of the business, the local government and the growth of the nation at large,” he said.

  • LSACA calls on private sector for increased funding

    The Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Oluseyi Temowo, has called on the private sector to assist the government in funding HIV response.

    Temowo said this in an interview after attending the second  yearly legislative summit on legislative network for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Abuja.

    He appreciated government efforts in working towards having  one per cent Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for Universal Basic Health Coverage for in the states, but added that it would do the citizens more good if the private sector could contribute to complement government’s efforts in funding HIV/AIDS through their Corporate Social Responsibility Fund (CSR).

    He said in line with the  agency’s vision of mitigating the effect of HIV/AIDS on those infected and affected, the agency has mounted effective campaign for the reduction of HIV prevalence in Lagos State through behavioural change communication (BCC) and hope to do more.

    Temowo said, in recognition of the global trend in HIV intervention, which is to eliminate new infections , discrimination and AIDS related deaths, the agency has scaled-up community outreach campaign of HIV  Testing Services (HTS) for early detection and treatment in order to achieve the virus eradication in the state by 2030, using the  90-90-90 initiative which means- 90 per cent of the people must know their HIV status, 90 per cent of those that know their status must  have access to Anti-retroviral treatment and 90 per cent on Anti-retroviral treatment must have suppressed viral load of those living with it and would not be able to infect others.

    In another development,  Temowo was optimistic that the state can end HIV epidemic by 2030 with its professional human and material resources cum more enlightenment campaign, adding that by taking the message of prevention to the rural areas and engaging the religious, opinion and community leaders and members the more, for them to understand the reason for the prevalence to be low, will aid prevention

    He made this known at this year’s International Conference on HIV/AIDS organised by the International AIDS Society in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

    The conference, he said, focused on the global perspective of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030.

    To achieve this, he maintained that focus must be more on differentiated services at the  three areas of the 90-90-90 initiative to allow full scale delivery of services  at all levels and emphasis collaborated efforts of all the sectors.

    By so doing, Temowo reasoned that the target would be met fast. “It is imperative to keep on supporting the UN 90-90-90 initiative by strengthening the tool of collaboration among Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at different levels of their interventions to meet the target,”he said.

    He, however, appealed to chairmen of local governments  and the local council development areas to consider HIV/AIDS funding as a priority for better intervention and prevention.

  • Kwara to partner private sector on education

    •Govt spends N6.5b on water reticulation

    The Kwara State government will partner the private sector and corporate organisations to improve education.

    Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development Bilikisu Oniyangi spoke at a news conference to herald the maiden Inter-Secondary School Mathematics and English Competition organised by the Saliu Mustapha Foundation.

    She said the government is committed to improving the standard of education through adequate funding.

    The competition, themed “Investment in Education, the solution to all Problems” was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development.

    Hajia Oniyangi said the ministry had designed policies and programmes aimed at rejuvenating education and accord it the place of pride.

    The commissioner, who said all hands must be on deck to address needs in education, urged stakeholders to support the government in its quest to reposition the sector.

    She said: “The government is committed to improving the standard of education through adequate funding and provision of necessary infrastructural facilities. The Ministry of Education has set out policies and programmes towards this direction.

    “In advanced countries, education is seen as a collective social responsibility, where private individuals and corporate organisations contribute to the development of education through endowment, building of facilities, scholarship or through this kind of inter-schools competition.

    “This initiative is laudable and worthy of emulation by individuals and corporate organisations, because to have a vibrant education sector, all hands must be on deck. The government is ready for a partnership that will advance education.”

    Representative of Saliu Mustapha Foundation Yakub Isowo said the competition would begin on July 21 with preliminaries among 20 secondary schools in Kwara South; 20 in Kwara North and another 20 in Kwara Central.

    “Ten schools would then be selected from each zone to participate in the grand finale. The first, second and third best schools would be awarded with their mathematics teachers at the grand finale on August 4 at Queen Elizabeth Secondary School, Ilorin.”

    The government spent over N6.5 billion on water reticulation between 2009 and 2018 to end the perennial water scarcity in Ilorin and environs.

    Commissioner for Water Resources Abdulkadir Yusuf, who addressed reporters at the weekend, said N1.9 billion was also captured in the 2018 budget to be spent on tertiary water reticulation in some parts of the state.

    The commissioner urged residents to be prepared to pay a token to get regular potable water in their homes.

    He noted that the government of former Governor Bukola Saraki spent about N3.7 billion on water while the current government had spent over N2.4 billion on the scheme. About N858 million was spent through the government’s infrastructural funding programme.

    A consultant on the water project, Prof Sulaiman Adeyemi, said the water challenge had lingered for so long because of the need to provide adequate water production, renewal of water distribution network, increase storage capacity, restoration of old pipes, and provision of adequate water treatment plant.

    He said the project would be inaugurated in September.

  • Obaseki banks on Technology, synergy with private sector

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the state government will drive agribusiness investments in the state with the deployment of new technologies and strong participation of private investors.

    Obaseki said this in a chat with journalists after a meeting with the Director General (DG) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, on the sidelines of the International Workshop Water-Energy-Food Systems in Sub-Sahara, held at the IITA campus in Ibadan, Oyo State.

    He said, “The most important of the challenges is trying to reenact and reestablish the culture of agriculture, to take out the drudgery of the past and bring in science and technology. We want to look at agriculture as a business with its value chain. People don’t grow crops for its own sake, it is because it has several uses aside food, such as agro-processing and as industrial goods.

    Read Also:How Obaseki leverages World Bank partnership to transform Edo

    “As a governor, I am here to see how I can explore opportunities with the institute, which we are very proud of. In the last 50 years, they have been helping us to understand the crops we grow in the tropics. We are also here to see how we can go into partnerships and work on specific projects.

    Noting that the state is paving the way for private investors to contribute in deepening investment in agribusiness, he said, “In Edo State, for instance, we have shut down all the colleges of agriculture and are restarting them with new curriculum. We are getting the private sector to get involved, even in those schools, to train the required manpower.”

    According to him, “For us as politicians and as a government, I campaigned and promised that I was going to enhance the well-being of my people and that I was going to create jobs. That is from a political perspective, I made a promise and I have to deliver. There are a number of things I need to do to deliver the result.  The first thing is to identify the issues, challenges and problems. But more importantly, you have to get and mobilise resources to make that happen.

    He restated that Edo State is one of the foremost agricultural states in Nigeria, as it has some of the biggest investments in oil palm and rubber plantations in the country, assuring that he was intent on returning the state to its glorious days as an agribusiness hub.

    He said, “Don’t forget that before oil became a fad, we were firstly an agrarian country. Edo State was the largest producer of oil palm and therefore we had the oil palm research institute. We were also a major producer of rubber. When I mean producer, I mean global producer of things like rubber, so we had a rubber research institute 60 years ago in Benin. So, we have had a culture of agriculture and agribusiness.”

     

  • Osinbajo praises private sector-led economic expansion in Edo

    The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo yesterday in Edo State, commended the private sector-led economic expansion in the state under Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    Prof. Osinbajo gave the commendation at the groundbreaking ceremony of the 1800 housing-unit Emotan Gardens, in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of the state.

    He said: “It is good to see the great and dynamic work the governor is doing. I was in Auchi recently to commission the Edo Fertiliser and Chemical Company Ltd. I was in this local government for the Benin Industrial Park. I commend the governor and MIXTA Africa for this excellent idea.”

    He lauded the governor’s investment drive and the increased participation of the private sector in the state’s economy.

    Chairman, Board of Directors, MIXTA Africa, Eddy Eguavoen, said the firm was excited about the partnership with the state government on the project, noting that from his experience with other governments across Africa, the state government’s support for the private sector is unparallel.

    According to him, “Our experience has been remarkable. I want to assure Nigerians and those in the diaspora that this project will be delivered with the quality and standards that MIXTA Africa is known for.”

    Governor Obaseki said that the project is the realisation of his campaign to turn the state into an economic hub, noting that the project is in line with the pledge to revive the state’s economy.

    He said: “I promised to create 200,000 jobs in the first instance, and some of them were to be in agriculture and construction, among others.

    “We realised that housing is also key. Hence, we have re-enacted the Edo Development and Property Agency (EDPA) law and set up a new management. This project is a reflection of the new direction.”

    Noting that the state has proved that much can be achieved with the private sector, he said: “I am happy that we have proven that it can be done. This building was put up in record time. I assure you that 80 per cent of materials used for this project was manufactured in Edo State. They will be used for the entire project.

    “We are starting a new paradigm. We expect that the houses will sell from between N3 million to N12 million. We are praticalising policies being enunciated in Abuja.”

    Former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, said the Vice President’s visits to the state indicate that the state’s economy is on track with Obaseki as governor.

     

  • Dangote urges private sector on women empowerment

    • Lifts 13,000 women in Nasarawa

    Dangote Group President, Aliko Dangote has urged private sector operators and the government to empower women to reduce poverty.

    Dangote said once women have been enabled to support their homes and families, poverty would  become a thing of the past.

    Speaking during the flagging-off the disbursement of N130million to 13,000 women in Lafia, Nasarawa State under the Aliko Dangote Foundation Micro-grant Scheme, he promised to spread wealth across the country, to reduce poverty.

    The scheme, according to Dangote, was one of the components of the economic empowerment programme of the foundation, aimed at providing the disadvantaged and vulnerable in the society with an unconditional N10, 000  transfer to boost their household income generation.

    “This we believe will help the beneficiaries meet their livelihood needs,” he said.

    He explained that the scheme, launched a few years ago, was targeted at a minimum of 1,000 women in each of the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the country.

    “It is estimated that we will spend about N10 billion on the scheme, some states with large population will get a little bit more than others,” he said.

    Dangote said the foundation started in 1993 with the belief that by supporting social and economic changes through strategic investment and interventions that improve the lives of the less privileged he would make a positive difference in the growth of the country’s economy.

    He said the four major goals of the foundation are -health and nutrition, education, economic empowerment and disaster relief.

    He said the foundation was partnering with Access bank to open bank accounts for the all the 13,000 beneficiaries in the state, so they can be issued with customised debit cards.

     

     

  • Experts urge Private Sector to invest in Youths

    In an attempt to overturn the economic situation of the country, experts have charged members of the private sector (organizations and businesses) to invest in Nigerian youths so as to help turn around the economy.

    The experts who double as high-level stakeholders spread across National Population Commission, UN agencies led by the United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA], HACEY Health Initiative, GBC Health, Population Council and ONE Campaign yesterday, held the first ever Private Sector Conference which bothers on how private sector can invest in young people to harnessing the Demographic dividends in Nigeria, at Four points by Sheraton, Lagos.

    According to the Director of Research & Development, Hacey Health Initiative, Paul Ojajuni, empowerment and education of young people is vital to the promotion of accelerated economic growth, urging the concerned parties to tap into the resources of the youths of Nigeria so as to develop the economy.

    He said that the Nigerian population is really young, so, we consider that an untapped resource and then we believe that if investment is made in that population, there will be returns on investment which will lead to accelerated economic growth.

    The concept of Demographic dividend is having a very young, healthy and productive young population that can actually contribute to the society, he added.

    Furthermore, Ojajuni urged the Nigerian youths to value opportunities and advised them to hold the bull by its horn so as to tap into the opportunities that are available and will arise as a result of this initiative.

    “The youths need to be proactive regarding things that they need to do, secondly, they need to be able to create opportunities rather wait for the government to create opportunities for them,” Ojajuni added.

    “The population of Nigeria is increasing rapidly and we need to control the size at which the population is increasing and improve our life expectancy. The government cannot do it alone; the development partners cannot do it alone ,” Sylvia Adebajo, country director, Population Council said at Nigeria’s first Private sector Conference on Demographic Dividend in Nigeria held yesterday in Lagos.

    Experts urge Private Sector to invest in Youths

    “We need to engage the private sector to contribute to the development of our human capital to achieve demographic dividend,” Adebajo said.

    “The shape of the population of any nation determines its level of development and demographic dividend is not automatic, it has to be planned for,” Osaretin Adonri, assistant representative, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representing Diene Kieta, country representative, said.

    “We must create the population structure that we want and that structure must be the one that has more of our population working than the percentage that is dependent.

    Read Also: HACEY advocates usage of technology to develop sexual orientation In Africa

    “To be able to increase the population that is working and reduce the dependent population we must start from planning the population and that is where family planning is very important,” Adonri said.

    One of the aims of the conference is to ensure government and private sector collaborate to invest in the youths of the country so that the can both, as one, work towards the common good of all by harnessing the Demographic dividends in Nigeria.

    As such, Ojajuni, urged the government to join the train by putting in place some workable policies to grease the engine of the new train.

    “We expect there to be certain policies in the country that will enable young people reach their full potentials.

    “Such are policies regarding health, policies regarding entrepreneurship, policies regarding education and not just enacting policies but policies that are well translated at all levels to action.

    He also added that, “to harness demographic dividend the private sector to play huge role. We’ve seen the private sector over time (such as Access Bank, Microsoft, etc), initiate programmes and projects across sectors which have been successful in health, financing and others.

    “The private sector is a huge partner in this and that’s why we are doing this for the private sector and all Nigerians.

    “We strongly believe that Nigerian youths are not lazy but very productive people, he concluded.

  • Support private sector with capital, LCCI urges NSE

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has advised the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to mobilise investment funds for the private sector.

    Its President, Babatunde Ruwase, who spoke during his visit to the NSE,  said the such support would facilitate the needed industrialisation. He said the two organisations have a lot to do together to promote private sector development and the advancement of the nation’s economy.

    He said: “We seek collaboration with the NSE in making this happen, especially in the mobilisation of capital for investors especially the indigenous ones. As you very well know, the cost of fund in the money market, as well as tenor of funds, are not in tune with the yearning of investors, especially those with a long term perspective. This has constrained the growth of key sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, property, construction and infrastructure. All these sectors need affordable long term funds.”

    He said the capital market window naturally provides the good option for funding investments, adding that LCCI would like to see a better impact of the funding window.

    He said there is need to collectively strengthen advocacy to make pension funds available for the long term financing needs of the economy.

    “We should also work together to explore options of financing of small businesses. As in many other economies, SME’s are critical to economic development especially the creation of jobs and the promotion of inclusiveness in the Nigerian economy,” he said. Runwase said funding SMEs remains a major challenge in the country. “It has been difficult to unlock the potentials in the sector partly as result of this problem,” he stated.

     

    He said LCCI is concerned about the deterioration of values of trust and integrity in business practices.

     

    According to him,  monetary, fiscal and trade policies have significant impact on the performance of the stock market and private sector investments generally. He said it will be useful to collaborate to promote investment-friendly policies in the economy through regular engagements with the relevant authorities of government.

    “We need to attract more private capital [domestic and foreign] into this economy, especially now that it is obvious that the government does not have the financial resources to fix the economy,” he said.

  • Osinbajo says private sector key in making economic decision

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Federal Government is committed to ensuring adequate consultation, especially with the private sector, in taking vital decisions on the economy.

    The Vice President stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the launch of the Nigerian Economic Diplomacy Initiative (NEDI), an initiative of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

    He said the country was committed to all Pan African and other deal that had made Nigeria to stand out as a country, with a view to integrate Africa.

    ”We are also committed to ensuring adequate consultation is made, especially with the private sector, before we make further commitment to some of the international treaties that are important to us.

    He said Nigeria was also committed to strengthening economic ties at the official level on issues like technical cooperation, air services, double taxation, investment promotion and protection and citizens rights among others.

    He noted that the trade and investment ties between countries were driven mainly by their private sector actors.

    ”In the case of Nigeria, the private sector is particularly important because it accounts for well over 90 per cent of our GDP.

    ”We are fully aware that building a competitive and vibrant national economy of our dream relies on enabling the innovation and dynamism of our private sector operators to flourish.

    ”Given that private sector actors and indeed talented individuals that would drive trade and investment are numerous: it follows that they may not have access or the means to obtain the information they need about the opportunities that abound especially abroad.

    ”So the vision of the minister to used the NEDI to bridge the vital gap is a welcome development indeed,” he said

    Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama said NEDI was a platform and mechanism for matching and connecting businesses.

    According to him, NEDI seeks to surmount all business huddles and barriers by leveraging on the ministry’s presence in 100 countries to match Nigerian and foreign businesses.

    ”This we do through an Internet portal where any Nigerian business after satisfying credibility check can upload their data onto a website.

    ”And with the help of dedicated staff and the information would be available to Nigerian staff in missions in the 100 countries,” he said

    According to him, in addition to NEDI, the ministry also created a window for diaspora brain gain.

    ”There are millions of Nigeria, who would want to come home if they could find job commensurate to their skills

    ”And, conversely we know that there are Nigerian institutions and businesses that are looking for skills not available in the country.

    ”We have therefore added a window where Nigerians in diaspora can upload their profile and the ministry will help to match them to needs of businesses and institutions in Nigeria.

    ”What NEDI add is a simple credibility and secured environment to grow the Nigerian economy,” he said

    He said that the ministry would soon launch an internet base mechanism for validating document with payment online to check corrupt practices.

    He said this would obviate the need for people to go through the often corruption prone bureaucracy to have document validate. (NAN)