The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Lagos State Government have reiterated their commitment to fostering a conducive environment for businesses in Lagos and Nigeria, as a whole, to grow and thrive.
The commitments were expressed at the State Action on Business-enabling Reforms (SABER) Technical Session and Statewide Town Hall Meeting organised by PEBEC in Lagos State at the Combo Hall, Agidingbi-Ikeja, as part of its current nationwide tour to strengthen subnational business reforms.
Speaking at the event, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Bada-Ambrose, described Lagos as a state that understands the need to institutionalise reforms and recognises that prosperity cannot be built on potential alone.
Ambrose affirmed that Lagos State has embraced the SABER framework as a transformative vehicle for governance reform, private sector engagement, and economic inclusion.
“Reforms must be constructed upon policy clarity, infrastructure readiness, regulatory transparency and, above all, unwavering public-private cooperation.
SABER, spearheaded by PEBEC—in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Debt Management Office, and the World Bank—offers a strategic framework to standardise and localise ease of doing business reforms across all subnational governments because reform must be context-sensitive.
It must reach the woman selling textiles in the Balogun Market; the baker in Ikorodu navigating multiple levies; the startup founder in Yaba, building blockchain-based health solutions; the farmer in Epe exporting processed palm oil; and the young cooperative society in Ijede, seeking access to patient capital,” she said.
Lagos State’s Response
According to the Commissioner, Lagos State’s response to SABER has been robust, ambitious, and fully aligned with the state’s long-term strategic plans, such as the ongoing development of Lagos State Industrial Policy (LSIP 2025–2030), the T.H.E.M.E.S+ Development Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration, and the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) 2052.
The Commissioner also announced that the Lagos State Export Readiness Programme, a 6-week training for Micro-Medium and Small Enterprises (MSME’s), will kick off on 2nd July 2025 in partnership with Afrexim Bank while the Lagos Corporate Assembly, tagged BOS Meets With Lagos Business Community, will also hold in July.
State Policies
The Director-General of PEBEC, Mrs Zahrah Mustapha Audu, expressed that states’ policies affect businesses; and partnership between the states and PEBEC would enable the government and stakeholders to adapt, enhance and strengthen the regulatory environment, particularly through the SABER programme.
“The goal of PEBEC is to work with the states and ensure all hands are on deck to support the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to foster a conducive business environment that drives more innovation and growth. The over-riding goal is trade facilitation and the Federal Government of Nigeria is doing a lot like reducing Customs’ inspection of goods to just one day and addressing multiple taxation, levies and fees, among others.
At the federal level, PEBEC is pushing for synergy and sharing of report among agencies to avoid multiplicity of inspection.
And I believe that this session will lay all the issues bare and speak to challenges as they concern operating environment in Lagos State,” said Mrs Audu, who commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his present and strategic approach to driving investments and for being a true face of the state through his deliberate and intentional approach to governance.
She also applauded Mrs Folashade Bada Ambrose, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, for her energetic drive of reforms in the state.
The town hall meeting featured panel discussions where robust sessions were held on how to drive deeper engagement and collaboration towards an improved business environment.
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), an inter-governmental and inter-ministerial one, was set up in July 2016 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to remove bureaucratic constraints to doing business in Nigeria and make the country a progressively easier place to start and grow a business.