The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yewande Sadiku

  • French firms to invest in Nigeria

    French firms to invest in Nigeria

    A consortium of 30 French companies on Monday expressed readiness to invest in key sectors of the Nigerian economy.

    The Head of French delegation, Mr. Philippe Labonne, made this known when he led the investors on a visit to the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Yewande Sadiku, in Abuja.

    Labonne listed the key sectors to include banking, infrastructure, renewable energy and youth empowerment.

    He said the decision by the companies to invest in Nigeria was taken following a directive by the French government for French companies to increase their investments in Nigeria.

    According to him, the Nigerian economic environment is encouraging following the recent stability in the country’s foreign exchange market.

    In a bid toward achieving their investment objective, Labonne said most of the French companies would form strategic partnerships with their Nigerian counterpart.

    “We are here to access the investment environment in Nigeria to enable us take advantage of Nigeria’s investment opportunities.

    “We have about 30 companies in this delegation in sectors such as infrastructure, services, agriculture and banking and the purpose of this meeting is to identify key sectors where we can invest.

    “We are interested in many areas such as energy, agriculture, services, especially toward youths and we will identify other areas subsequently,’’ Labonne said.

    The NIPC Executive Secretary said Nigeria remains a top destination of capital inflows in the African continent.

    According to Sadiku, Nigeria is strategically located in Africa to serve the needs of many countries as a regional hub to the continent.

  • NIPC to partner Niger on development of Tourism, Agriculture

    NIPC to partner Niger on development of Tourism, Agriculture

    The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission ( NIPC ) on Thursday said it would partner the Niger State Government to attract investors into tourism and agricultural sectors of the state

    Ms Yewande Sadiku, the Chief Executive Officer of NIPC, said this when Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger visited the commission in Abuja.

    Sadiku said that the commission would support the state government in profiling investment opportunities that would attract foreign investors to the state.

    According to her, the commission was building a platform for capacity building and profiling investment opportunities; starting with a tool that would help in profiling small and medium scale enterprises (SMES).

    “We are profiling investment opportunities in a way that will be easy to market.

    “By doing this, such profiling will help investors identify specific opportunities. We are happy to work with whatever team you designated first to profile.

    “We have adequate information on different types of profiling that can be used as teasers for our engagement with investors,” she said.

    She noted that the platform would help states with investment projects to market their products.

    Sadiku said that Niger had the potential to feed Nigeria and West Africa if attention were given to key sectors such as infrastructure development in agriculture and tourism.

    She said that the development of infrastructure would help the state close some of the challenges it might face in terms of competitiveness of manufactured goods.

    “Nigeria has three hydro-electric dams located in Niger and power is the foundation for industrial development.

    “Niger is one of the 36 states that is unique due to its proximity to Abuja, this means that the state is already close to the market.
    .
    “We are delighted to work with you in terms of marketing projects and profiling,” she said.

    Earlier, Gov. Bello had solicited the support of the commission in profiling and carrying out feasibility studies on agriculture and tourism sectors in the state to attract global investors.

    He said that the state had structures such as the Baro Port, tourist sites and agriculture potential that had not been adequately harnessed due to lack of proper profiling and feasibility studies.

    “We have tourist sites and agriculture potentials which many investors have shown interest to develop; but we need profiling on these key sectors for foreign investors to know what Niger State can offer them,” he said.

    Bello, however, noted that such potential if properly harnessed would have more impact and generate more revenue and jobs for the people of the state and the country at large.

    NAN

  • ‘Creative industry can boost Nigerian economy if properly harnessed’

    ‘Creative industry can boost Nigerian economy if properly harnessed’

    Mrs Yewande Sadiku, Director-General (D-G), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), on Monday said that the creative industry has the potential to generate more income that could boost  the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.

    Sadiku said this  at the opening of a two-day Creative Nigeria Summit at the Eko Hotels and Suites Convention Centre in Lagos themed, “Financing the Film, Television and Music Industries’’.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the summit which started on Monday would end tomorrow.

    She said the theme focused on understanding the creative industry better so that it could be better explored by government and the organised private sector to generate more revenue for the country.

    “The creative industry contributes about 1.4 per cent of the country’s GDP but it has the capacity to contribute more if it is properly understood.

    “The industry creates employment and can be used as a veritable tool to educate its viewers concerning relevant matters which cut across all section of life.’’

    Sadiku said that the government should not be directly involved in funding the creative sector but its duty was to provide an enabling environment for the industry to blossom.

    “The government can assist in the development of the industry by providing infrastructure that will enable the industry to generate more money.’’

    The NIPC boss gave an instance those movies as: ‘Half of the Yellow Sun’ and ‘Wedding Party’ can bring yield more revenue if more cinemas would be made available in the country.

    “There is also the difficulty in getting licences to show films in the cinemas which the government can make more accessible.’’

    Sadiku said that the government could also attract wealthy Nigerians to invest in the industry for better management of taxes.

    Meanwhile, Mr Tokunbo Akande, the Special Adviser to Gov. Akinwumi Ambode on Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), said an understanding of the value-chain system of the industry would help pinpoint areas of support from the government.

    Akande identified the value-chain system as creativity, aggregation, distribution and consumption as important areas where investment would stimulate growth.

    “Direct funding is not really necessary from the government but an understanding of the value-chain system and how it works will help focus on area of investments.

    “The government can also provide incentives to film producers to encourage the production of quality movies in the country,’’ he said.

    Similarly, Mr Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), said that effective leadership in the industry was necessary to curb piracy.

    “The protection of intellectual properties cannot be over-emphasised because this accounts for the foundation where creativity stems from’’.

    Okoroji said that the deployment of stronger legislature and technology could also help reduce piracy in the country.

  • Oyo to support NIPC in promoting investment

    Oyo to support NIPC in promoting investment

    Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State on Tuesday said his administration would   support the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) in its efforts at promoting investment in the country.

    The governor said this   in Ibadan on Tuesday while receiving a delegation of the NIPC in his office.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NIPC delegation was led by Yewande Sadiku, the commission’s Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer.

    Ajimobi, who said the state would offer support to the commission whenever it was needed, added that Oyo has all the requirements to be a Centre of business opportunities in Nigeria.

    He stated that the latest effort of his administration was to make the state a hub of industrial activities in the country.

    “We recently established a Free Trade Zone and an industrial park around it to promote investment aimed at turning the state into an industrial hub of the nation.

    “The efforts were targeted at China as a country, because we believe that the Asians, especially the Chinese, have value for human dignity and respect for labour.

    “This is against the European’s style of robotic technology which derides human life,” he said.

    He said that the state government had secured the assurances of 154 Chinese investors, adding that seven had already commenced work in the Free Trade Zone.

    Ajimobi also stated that the ranking of the state by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as one of the first five investor-friendly states   in Nigeria from its   24th position in 2014 was a manifestation of his administration’s commitment.

    Earlier, Sadiku said that NIPC would soon commence a programme on “Domestic Direct Investment’’ to encourage local investment.

    She stated that the programme was aimed at encouraging Nigerians to invest in the country.

    Sadiku expressed the commission’s readiness to work closely with state governments, adding the agency was responsible for encouraging, promoting and coordinating investments in the country.

    “We are in this state to support your administration in its drive for investment promotion and industrialisation. We are seriously working hard to encourage Nigerians to invest in their own country,’’ she said.

    She stated that the commission would in October hold a summit in Abuja to bring together stakeholders in the country on the need to drive local businesses and make Nigerians invest more in their own country.

    “I want to inform your Excellency that we have come to serve and we cannot fully achieve our mandate without working closely with the states.

    “We have worked closely with Development Agenda of Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission on a National Investment Certification for south west states

    “Our mandate is to promote investment locally and support whatever attempts at making Nigerians locate their investments in Nigeria, to drive job opportunities and maximise growth,” she said.