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Ogun state has reiterated a keen desire to boost the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the state through investors’ interactions to make the sector serve as feeders in the backward integration of large scale manufacturers in the state.
A move expected to increase the state drive in harnessing its human development for job creation among the growing young population of the state and raise its IGR to N10bn monthly.
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, said the state is fast becoming the investors’ capital of Nigeria on the back of the Ogun State Investors’ Forum, with a revenue drive to grow its monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to N10bn from its current N7bn, as investors continue to show interest in bringing capital in to the state.
Governor Amosun made this disclosure at the press conference to unveil the theme for the Ogun State Investors’ Forum 2018, “Consolidating the Gains, Accelerating Growth” in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Amosun stated that upon assumption of office in 2011, the state could only generate N730 million as IGR monthly, which has been boosted by his administration through proactive strides to attract investors in to Ogun State.
With a monthly bill way above N9bn, the state has decided to look inward in boosting its IGR to N10bn by the end of the current administration in 2019, a move seen to drive investment into the state.
Speaking on the successes recorded with the previous editions of Ogun State Investors’ Forum, which held in 2012, 2014, and 2016, Amosun said “Everyday, new investors come to us in a bid to establish their businesses here in Ogun State. So, about 148 Companies have established shops and invested between 200 million dollars and 2 billion dollars in the last two years. But we want to take development and growth in Ogun state beyond the industrial hub of the country.
“Our aim is to consolidate the gains and accelerate growth. We want to concentrate on what we have achieved. We want to exploit specific growth to collaborate with investors and entrepreneurs,” Governor Amosun said.
As one of West Africa’s fastest growing investment destinations with 20 million tons/ annum miming capacity for lime stone and a vast arable land, Ogun State has the potentials to be Nigeria’s industrial hub leveraging mining and agribusiness to grow the MSMEs/SMEs subsector.
On the rate of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow to the state, Amosun disclosed that a total of 304 firms have either established new plants or expanded the existing plants in the last seven years in the state, with 148 of such firms have each invested between $200 million and $2 billion, while about 156 of the firms have invested between $50 million and $200 million.
Bimbo Ashiru, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry on his part said Ogun State Investors’ Forum attest to the various moves of the government to create enabling environment for businesses to thrive, and make Ogun accessible to investors. “Today it is a success story and Ogun state is the industrial hub of Nigeria; and our strategy is to become number one in Africa,” he stated.
According to Ashiru, a World Bank Reports on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) surveys, showed that 75% of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) that came to Nigeria between 2016 and 2017 were domiciled in Ogun state.
SEYI JOHN SALAU
