By Lucy Ogalue

A Professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan, Olawale Ogunkola, has advocated the need for policies and strategies that foster efficient industrialisation process in Africa.

Ogunkola, who spoke at a plenary session at the ongoing African Economic Conference (AEC) 2023 in Addis-Ababa, reiterated the need for infrastructure development on the continent to aid industrialisation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference’s theme is “The Imperative for Sustainable Development in Africa”.

According to Ogunkola, mass production is required to meet market demands, and this will not be profitable if trade costs are not reduced through infrastructure development.

Highlighting the challenges being faced by some countries where Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were isolated, Ogunkola called for an integrated approach and policy coherence.

“The case for infrastructure development is critical for regional value chains. If we do not address trade costs, making a profit will not be possible.

“For some countries, special economic zones are like military zones; keep off. They are so disconnected from the domestic economy.

“There is a need for an integrated approach and policy coherence to make Special Economic Zones relevant by linking them to technology transfer and skills development.

“The special zones need to be relevant by being linked to technology transfer and skills development, aligning them with the broader domestic economy,” he said.

The professor also urged governments to ensure the implementation of our policies on the continent, as enacting those policies was not a solution unless they were implemented.

Similarly, Grace Nshemeirwe, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Uganda Private Sector Federation, emphasised the need for governments to address trade barriers and finance businesses.

She said: “harmonising trade policies across the region is vital to facilitate trade and enable African countries to compete effectively.

“Access to finance and capacity building cannot be overemphasised; we must do more in product standardisation and packaging in Africa.”

The President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Pradep Mehta, said trade policies must evolve to focus on consumer welfare.

He then reiterated the importance of consumer-centric approaches in shaping future trade policies in Africa.
Meanwhile, Dr Joy Kategekwa, the Strategy Advisor at UNDP, who moderated the plenary, also emphasised the transformative potential of Regional Value Chains (RVCs) in Africa’s industrial revolution.

Kategekwa said RVCs enable nations to leverage their comparative and competitive advantages, allowing them to participate in industries that might otherwise be beyond their capacities.

“Africa is industrialising; we must grow bigger and faster,” Dr Kategekwa said.

“This growth requires a multifaceted approach, including consistent government policies, fostering Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), and establishing Special Economic Zones to drive the development of regional value chains.

“Removing barriers to the free movement of people is equally crucial; we can’t trade and industrialise if we can’t move,” Kategekwa said.

NAN reports that the theme of the plenary is “Is Africa having potential for regional value chains?”

The forum is being hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Economic Commission for Africa, and UNDP.

The meeting brought together leaders, youths, African scholars, academics, private sector operators, and development practitioners to deliberate on research and propose policy recommendations on the continent. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Stellamaris Ashinze/Lydia Ngwakwe

The Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) in partnership with the MTN MoMo has introduced a mobile money platform for start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to grow their businesses.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the product was unveiled at the MTN MoMo and NASME Symposium and Exhibition, on Friday, in Lagos.

The National President, NASME, Dr Abdulrashid Yerima, said familiarising the NASME community with the MTN MoMo wallet and MTN products would play a significant role in supporting the growth and development of SMEs in Nigeria.

According to him, providing NASME members with the tools and resources they need to succeed, MTN have helped to create a more inclusive and prosperous economy for all Nigerians.

“As the President of the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, I am honoured to be part of this collaborative effort between MTN MoMo and NASME that symbolises a commitment to fostering growth, innovation, and connectivity within our vibrant small and medium-sized enterprise community.

“This initiative aligns with the one-billion-naira youth and women empowerment fund and the overarching vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030.

“It also marks the commencement of a transformative experience designed to introduce the MTN MoMo Wallet and MTN products to NASME.

“It serves as a conduit for networking, expert-led workshops, and seminars aimed at equipping SMEs with the tools and knowledge necessary for sustainable growth,’’ he said.

Yerima was represented at the event by Mr Solomon Aderoju, the National Vice President, NASME.

The Chief Commercial Officer, MoMo, Elsa Muzzolini, who thanked NASME for the collaboration, said that MoMo was willing to engage them and address their specific challenges and requirements.

“We really want to listen about your needs and what you want MoMo and MTN to do to help you in your business on a daily basis.

“I want you to share with us what you want MoMo to do for you; my team will collate all your submissions and make sure that we integrate it because we believe in co-design and collaboration to serve the needs of our customer,’’ she said.

Dr Femi Egbesola, President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), congratulated NASME and MoMo for the partnership and for identifying with the SMEs.

Egbesola, however, provided specific recommendations on how MTN MoMo could better support small and medium-sized enterprises.

This, he said, was a proactive approach for MoMo to identify and address the needs of SMEs, which is crucial for fostering their growth and success.

Egbesola said, “The first is that we would love to have the logo of our business membership organisation on your MoMo platform for the world to see that we are actually partnering with you and you are partnering with us.

“Next is that when you are dealing with SMEs, we want you to use us as your brand ambassadors.

“We wish that you introduce quite a number of different support services with your MoMo platform. Like having an online platforms where all SMEs can display their products and services free of charge that will give you a lot of feasibility and will also help you to have our data free of charge.

“We will also appreciate it if you can have a mentorship platform on your platform that can assist us to have people who are credible, knowledgeable and experienced.

“That can afford the startups and those who are younger in business on how to do business right, among others.’’ (NAN)
Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Lucy Ogalue

The Federal Government has inaugurated a procurement integrity and transparency training partnership initiative that will ensure integrity and transparency in procurement processes in the country.

The second Deputy President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, inaugurated the initiative on Thursday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the partnership is between the chamber and the Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences (ICPC).

According to Adesugba, the initiative stems from past corrupt practices within procurement and related business dealings involving vendors and suppliers at different levels.

“Given the prevalent unethical practices in procurement processes, this event aims to lay the ground work for nationwide awareness campaigns on integrity and transparency.

“It also marks the prelude to a comprehensive training programme scheduled for ICPC vendors later this month, generously supported by the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE),” Adesugba said.

He said that the chamber currently operated four specialised centres alongside the secretariat.

He listed the centres to include the Abuja Trade Centre, Business Entrepreneurial Skills and Technology (BEST) Centre, Policy Advocacy Centre (PAC) and Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC).

He said: “each Centre contributes significantly to the chamber’s overarching mission of developing the Nigerian economy.

“The BEST centre, in collaboration with the lCIPE, has been actively involved in promoting business integrity and accountability through various training and sensitisation programmes, one of which brings us together today,” Adesugba said.

The Director-General for ACCI, Victoria Akai, said that the programme was to sensitise the public and private sector on the importance of ethical procurement and business practices.

According to Akai, the programme will encourage issues around open government, standards procurement practices and institutional strengthening.

“We intend to achieve compliance in public institutions so that they can see the importance of complying with the standards of procurement practices that have been established.

“And to the private sector also to comply with the ethics and accountability for us to run a stronger institution in the country,” Akai said.

The Head of Procurement of ICPC, Mr Shintema Binga, said that the programme was important to all procurement vendors.

“We feel there is some lack of integrity that is displayed sometimes in the procurement process, so our partners at ACCI and CIPE decided to sensitise them to wake up their business integrity to come up to date,”

He said that ICPC followed due process, evaluation and due diligence by tracing the information given by the bidder to be sure of whom they are dealing with if the person was qualified or not.

Meanwhile, the Country Director of CIPE, Lola Adekanye, said CIPE was a democratic organisation that supported a free market or competitive market in democratic institutions around the world.

“We are here for business integrity, and business ethics are fundamental to a competitive market, to democracy anywhere in the world, and today we are inaugurating a good collaboration between the ICPC and ACCI,

“In the past, we thought that corruption was an issue and that the public sector had all the responsibility to reduce it, but today, we know that business has a role in curbing corruption.

“We are pushing to strengthen the values that make us resilient against corruption. There is no society without corruption, and many factors make corruption increase or reduce,” Adekanye said.

Adekanye said that the country lacked strong accountability mechanisms and adherence to ethics principles, which was the area they were trying to strengthen.

“We are trying to create a constructive business environment so that wherever corruption comes from, the business environment is strong enough to withstand it,” she said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Itohan Abara-Laserian

Stakeholders in the equipment leasing ecosystem, have said leasing subsector is capable of making huge contributions to the growth of the country’s economy .

They said this at the 21st National Lease Conference on Thursday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference had the theme:” Propelling Economic Recovery and Growth: the Leasing Initiative”.

Mrs Ngozi Ehigiamusoe, Chairman of Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN), said that in spite of the obvious challenges around leasing, the sector contributed about N3.1 trillion to the economy.

“No doubt, equipment leasing is very key to achieving the government’s economic agenda with direct bearing on all the eight priority areas.

“As a financing alternative, leasing is unique as it facilitates easy and convenient access to equipment needed for productive purposes, contributing to capital formation in the economy.

“Leasing reaches out and meets the diverse equipment needs of various categories of customers, be it large corporate organisations or small venture owners, providing them with affordable and quality services tailored to their needs.

“The overall essence of leasing is to enhance the planning, improvement and development of any economy by building and supporting productive ventures”, she said.

She added that globally, equipment leasing had over the years served as creative financing alternative, generating a new business volume of over 1.5 trillion annually dollars in new leases and accounting for 20 per cent of total investment in equipment, contributing about 1.5 per cent to global GDP.

“The beauty of leasing lies in the fact that it delivers a multiplicity of benefits to those who choose to lease.

“It helps all types and sizes of businesses to conveniently acquire the much-needed equipment to conduct their business operations and make profit.

“Governments are also utilising leasing in their developmental initiatives. The leasing industry supports investments in key sectors of the economy in many developing countries including, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Ghana and Zambia.”she said.

She noted that since inception in Nigeria, leasing had been supporting economic development.
“Today, the impact of leasing is pronounced in all sectors of the economy, enhancing capital formation, generating employment and creating wealth.

“Outstanding leases in Nigeria in 2022 amounted to N3.18 trillion as against N2.58 trillion in 2021 representing 23.2 per cent growth.

“In the last decade, leasing contribution to capital formation in the economy is in excess of N16.3 trillion.

“Leasing is becoming more relevant in our prevailing economic situation, especially to MSMEs given the high cost of assets,” she said.

Ehigiamusoe ,while saying equipment leasing is cheaper and more flexible than hire purchase,urged government at all levels to utilise leasing in their various development initiatives.

Also speaking at the conference, Engr. Saidu Njidda, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Equipment Leasing Registration Authority (ELRA) said that the conference was timely as it was looking at ways to propel economic growth and recovery through leasing .

According to him,equipment leasing is an option to loan being used by countries to address some of their development problems .

He said: “We have to educate people to use leasing as an option. You know, part of the eight-point agenda of President Bola Tinubu administration is to enable Nigerians have access to capital ,and leasing is a very good way of accessing capital

“The legal process of leasing is the offer and acceptance and consideration.It is like any other contract, only that in leasing you have an opportunity of tenure like a loan.

“Basically, the legal consideration is offer, acceptance and consideration, like in all contract.”

Mr Taiye Emagha, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Lecon Financial Services Ltd., identified default as a major challenge in the sub sector.

Emagha listed the others as high operating expenses, high cost of spare parts , high insurance cost.

He said equipment leasing was a better option than consumer loans and outright purchase of needed equipment .

Present at the event were representatives from IFC, Nigeria Sinotrucks, Coscharis Mobility Ltd. and others in the leasing space. (NAN)

Edited by Bolaji Buhari

By Lydia Ngwakwe
Stakeholders in the investment space have expressed commitment to address the barriers that prevent women from fully participating in the impact investing sector.

Impact investing is defined as the deployment of funds into investments that generate a measurable and beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return on investment.

The stakeholders made this known at the inaugural gender impact investment summit, organised by the Impact Investors Foundation (IIF) and the Nigeria National Board for Impact Investment, on Thursday, in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit which brought together over 300 stakeholders in the impact investing space had the theme: “Closing the Gender Financing Gap in Nigeria.”

The summit, which also discussed policies needed to unlock opportunities, saw participants making commitments to reducing the gender financing gap in Nigeria.

They also proposed gender targets for investee companies, building pipelines of female fund managers, and actionable policies to streamline gender inclusion.

The stakeholders also expressed commitment to creating opportunities for women to access finance, enhance the awareness of gender-lens investing, and expand networking and partnerships.

Dr Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, emphasised the need for gender lens investing, an investment strategy that intentionally considers the positive or negative impact of an investment on gender equality.

Edu called for concrete steps to increase women’s participation across the impact investing value chains from asset owners to fund managers.
The minister was represented at the event by Carol Nelson-Atuonwo, Special Adviser (Strategy).

“Closing the financial gap for women in Nigeria is achievable and will entail concerted efforts in policy making, capacity building on gender mainstreaming and continuous engagement with all actors and stakeholders with focus on tackling the root causes,” Edu said.

The Chairman, Impact Investors Foundation (IIF), Mr Afolabi Oladele, noted that there was a problem with widespread access to finance, especially for women in Northern Nigeria.

Oladele said, “Women still struggle with baseline needs, particularly in the North and this affects the balance. Women generally earn less than men even when they do the same job as the men.’’

Mrs Ibukun Awosika, Chairperson, Nigerian National Advisory Board for Impact Investing (NABII), who spoke virtually, called for gender inclusivity in boards of corporate organisations to drive profitability.

Mr Tunde Mabawonku, Executive Director, Retail and Digital Bank, Wema Bank, encouraged participants, especially women, to make the right investment choice and be deliberate in their plans to succeed in their careers and their businesses.

Ms Thelma Ekiyor Olu-Solanke, Chair SME.NG/Member, NABII, while delivering a micro talk on the topic: “The Nigerian NABII Agenda on Gender and Financing Women through the Wholesale Impact Investment Fund (WIIF), said the WIIF was designed to address specific issues around building the ecosystem for impact financing in Nigeria.

According to her, the Nigerian NABII is intentional about incorporating women-led impact projects and will support women in new and underserved markets.

“The Federal Government has committed 50 per cent to the fund. We are looking forward to reaching the $1 billion benchmark by the first quarter of 2024,” she added.

Earlier, Ms Etemore Glover, Chief Executive Officer, IIF and NABII, said: “The summit marks an important milestone in collectively addressing the $320 billion financing gap facing African female fund managers and entrepreneurs.

“IIF remains committed to driving gender-inclusive practices in Nigeria’s impact investing ecosystem.’’
Other speakers at the event include the Managing Director and Co-Founder, Alithea Capital,

Tokunboh Ishmael; Gwen Abiola-Oloke, CEO, DI Africa; and Toni Sanni, Head Corporate Finance and Venture Capital, Emerging Africa Group, among others.

IIF’s commitment to driving gender-inclusive practices in Nigeria’s impact investing ecosystem are important step towards bridging this gap and creating a more equitable future for all. (NAN)

Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma