Ondo State Government has assured investors that the Ondo Seaport and the massive bitumen deposits in the state were among other major endowments, to serve as a viable, transport alternative to product exports and imports in Nigeria.
The Governor of Ondo State. Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, gave the assurance at the day two of the 5th National Diaspora Investment Summit in Abuja, where he expressed his delight at the focus on Ondo at the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit, NDIS event.
According to him, the special focus on Ondo state will serve as a platform to showcase what the state has to offer to the global stage.
The governor, who was represented by his Deputy Mr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa said the seaport, if fully completed would create job opportunities and boost revenue for Ondo state.
Investment Opportunities
The Managing Director, Ondo State Development Investment and Promotion Agency (ONDIPA), Mr. Gbenga Badejo said that Ondo has a lot of business and investment opportunities.
Asides Ondo State unique economic potentials, the state is ranked eighth out of the 36 states, plus the FCT, on ease of doing business in Nigeria, and the safest state in the Niger Delta region.
”I therefore call on all investors home and abroad to invest in the state, for the betterment of the state, Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”
The Leader of the Brown Ventures Group, USA, Dr. Chris Brooks, in his keynote speech said; “Prospects & Challenges of Investing Startups in Emerging Economies”, urged Africans to partner with others to change the narrative of the African continent.
Dr. Brooks, is of the view that many Africans are unaware of the rich economic potentials to fast track rapid investment opportunities embedded in the continent.
“This phenomenon is as a result of the “identity bleaching syndrome, which Africans needs to change. Nigeria, a country with the mostjn population in Africa, has the human and material resources to project Africa into a hub for opportunities and not a place for exploitation.”
According to Dr. Brooks, trust, ethics, identity, knowledge-sharing , Afro-ethnic interdependency , as well as, promoting African ideas and products by main political and economic actors, as very vital elements to growing Africa to enviable heights.
The Chairman, NIDCOM, Dr. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the theme was apt as this year’s summit focuses on the Diaspora, exploring investment opportunities at the local level in the country hence its direction on Ondo state. Such interest will further shift direction from the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Diaspora Direct Investment (DDI).
Dr. Dabiri-Erewa, further expressed optimism at the Summit’s efforts at raising young generations of entrepreneurs and proffering feasible business solutions in today’s national economy in Nigeria.
With assurance that this year’s event will be nothing short of its promise at promoting investment opportunities within Nigeria to the world.
Lateefah Ibrahim
