Nigerian Investment Promotions Commission (NIPC) said it would positioning the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA) for valuable collaborations, and would facilitate submission of viable and bankable project profiles of PHCCIMA members for matchmaking with foreign investors.
NIPC has also requested a database of credible and serious businesses in Rivers State to ensure they benefit from support and incentives of the commission.
Ladi Katagun, acting executive secretary of NIPC, stated this when the president of PHCCIMA, Emi Membere-Otaji led a business delegation of the chamber to the Commission in Abuja, as part of his administration’s continued effort to open new vistas and frontiers that would help realise set objectives and meet the needs and aspirations of the Chamber membership.
The NIPC acting executive secretary, Katagum said the visit was long overdue because chambers of commerce, as the mouthpiece of the organised private sector (OPS) are the reliable partners of NIPC.
She said NIPC was a Federal Government agency established to encourage, promote and coordinate investments in the Nigerian economy, noting that NIPC’s mission statement is anchored on “taking Nigeria beyond oil.”
“The agency is open to collaborations with PHCCIMA, especially in its statutory objective of effectively promoting Nigeria’s investment potentials, efficient facilitation of investments to fast-track entry processes, advocacy for favourable and stable investment environment, provision of technical advice on linkages, joint venture partnerships; provision of information on investment incentives and coordination of the One-Stop-Investment-Centre (OSIC).”
Katagun accepted to collaborate with PHCCIMA to promote investment in Nigeria, especially in areas of national comparative advantage and sectoral focus like agriculture, agribusiness, solid minerals, tourism, power, renewable energy-solar, wind, biomass, and automotive industry.
She said NIPC will continue to develop other sectors, encourage Nigerianisation of businesses to ensure that products have some degree of local content, woo local and foreign investors, help businesses to diversify into other sectors and provides guide for business relocation.
Speaking during the visit, Membere-Otaji stated that the visit of PHCCIMA business delegation to NIPC was in response to the national call for diversification of the economy, due to the current national economic depression, brought about by sudden collapse of oil revenue affecting not just PHCCIMA members, but other sectors of the economy.
“PHCCIMA as a chamber has come to identify with the clarion call for diversification, hence we are here seeking collaborations with NIPC on how to harness opportunities to diversify members’ businesses, and uplift them to the next level of increased business activity,” said Membere-Otaji.
He disclosed that Port Harcourt was created over 100 years ago, as a shipping hub for easy exportation of goods such as coal, agricultural produce, etc, but regretted the abandonment of this status since the emergence of oil and gas.
The PHCCIMA delegation commended the One-Stop-Investment-Centre (OSIC) of NIPC, and called for investment on intellectual properties, creating of enabling environment for businesses to thrive and relaxing of stringent policies that inhibit outflow of funds including the removal of impediments to exports like high tariffs at the ports.
