The Nigeria stand at the Africa 2017 investment conference taking place in Egypt has been busy, as a number of investors have been approaching the stand, showing interest in investing in the country.
When BusinessDay visited the stand this morning, Mohammed Lere, President of the Nigeria Egypt Business Council and other officials of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) were busy attending to different people who were showing an interest in investing in the country.
Officials of the NIPC told BusinessDay that they have attended to over 30 different investors this morning with majority of them showing an interest in investing in the Agricultural sector in the country. The Africa 2017 forum is currently taking place in Egypt and today is the second day of the three-day event which will end tomorrow.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, representing President Muhammadu Buhari will be among the top government officials that would be addressing delegates at today’s conference which began yesterday with the Young Entrepreneurs Day. Tony Elumelu, was among the top business men who spoke at the event yesterday, sitting in a panel of presidents with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, on how to drive entrepreneurship in Africa.
Elumelu, speaking at the opening plenary, emphasised that the future of Africa is in the hands of young Africans. He advised youths to note that they are “destined to be great, as long as they worked hard for it” also noting that “shared prosperity is better than one person, owning everything.”
“Focus, discipline, work hard, don’t submit to problems, don’t wait for things to be fixed before jumping on the train. Africa has opportunities; capitalise on them,” Elumelu advised youths at the conference.
He disclosed the three things that young entrepreneurs must focus on in in order to build their brand equity. He said that the three things are; Integrity, Durability and Reliability but noted that “dreaming is nothing without execution.”
Also speaking, President Al Sisi used the platform to announce that Egypt is setting up the first regional centre for entrepreneurs in Africa. He also announced that the country will be setting up a 200 billion Egyptian pound fund for Small and Medium Scale enterprises in Egypt.
The Africa 2017 Forum aims at providing a platform for heads of state and government, as well as private sector and business leaders in Africa and the world, in order to discuss a wide range of business and development issues on the continent and to engage with some of Africa’s most important economic partners and stakeholders.
The “Africa 2017 Forum” will focus on success stories, while drawing lessons from the past. This will help delegates design solutions to spur investment, and to accelerate job creation and more inclusive growth. The forum also provides a good opportunity for all participants to share their best practices in order to mutually benefit from the diverse experiences and backgrounds that Africa enjoys.
