There was an huge turnout of Nigerians and friends of Nigeria gathered for the recent Invest in Abia Forum which took place at the UK House of Lords in London earlier this week as the state government stepped up its plans to woo international investors.
Hosted by Lord Sheik and the Association of African Owned Businesses, the Invest in Abia Forum established that there is indeed a keen appetite to invest in Abia State. Speakers sought to woo both foreign investors with a calculated eye on the potential favourable returns and the Nigerian diaspora in the UK looking to establish a presence back home.
Governor Victor Ikpeazu was represented at the event by Dr John Ahukannah the Abia State Commissioner for Health, who used the occasion to emphasise Abia State’s commitment to providing a structured, friendly and unrivalled business environment for investment. Delegates told him it would be useful for Abia State to publish an easy to digest blueprint of investment cycles reflecting the state strategy over the short, medium and the long term.
Dr Ahukannah was also told how it would be useful for the state to confirm top priorities in various investment cycles. According to several speakers, the opportunities are vast and China is clearly demonstrating that despite the challenges of corruption, security concerns, the lack of infrastructure and the relatively young political structures, Abia State, like many others in Nigeria has huge potential.
At the event, Dr Ahukannah revealed that there are a number of funding options open to foreign and diaspora investors with several operations providing the necessary advice. He added that the average Abia State indigene is highly entrepreneurial which in turn has led to the propagation of small and medium enterprises and endemic traditional informal apprenticeship schemes in the state.
According to Dr Ahukannah, these are fertile basic structures for knowledge and technology transfer, ensuring the sustainability of industrialisation and diversification of investment. He added that a case study of interest is the leather, fabric and the apparel industry where the quality of the products and the responsiveness to consumer requirements are second to none on the African continent.
However due to branding challenges and quality control, the finished products are not sold under the Made in Nigeria Brand but under another country’s label with a perceived brand synonymous with quality. Across Abia State, the leather, fabric and apparel industry is an industry waiting to explode with the combination of burgeoning demand and the right maximisation of economies.
Textiles along with food processing, has been almost the rule in industrialisation movements and investment direction. This is usually followed by transportation development, heavy industry and more sophisticated enterprises capital intensive industry, such as metalworking, chemicals, and electronics.
Delegates were told how across Abia State, substantial advances in agricultural output and increased foreign trade are concomitants of industrial development and will also assist with the Nigerian diversification policy. In addition, delegates confirmed that the economic development of Abia State would generally require investment in the labour force and the markets for finished products and access to raw materials.
Chief Uzo Owunne, the convener of the Invest In Abia forum, extended his sincere appreciation to all delegates. He added that further points and requests generated from the Invest in Abia forum are now being collated to strengthen the Abia State investment po
