BIPC Set To Create Expansion, Innovation For Local Businesses

By Alu Azege

Benue Investment Promotion Council says it has created a forum for an enabling environment for local business to thrive in the state.

The managing Director/CEO of Benue Investment Promotion Council. Mr Raymond Asemakaha stated this during an interview with kapital fm correspondent Alu Azege in Abuja

According to the MD/CEO , Benue is the next big thing to happen to Nigeria.

Below is the full interview.

How do you envision this local investment forum playing a strategic role in attracting new investments to the state, the North Central region, and Nigeria as a whole?

The local investment forum serves as a strategic platform to attract new investments not only to Benue State but also to the North Central region and Nigeria as a whole. Through its targeted approach, the forum aims to connect investors with carefully curated opportunities in key sectors, showcase the immense potential of Benue and the broader region, and foster robust partnerships between government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders. This collaborative effort seeks to address negative perceptions, attract investors seeking new horizons, and create a more enabling environment for businesses to flourish. Furthermore, the forum emphasizes the potential for regional cooperation, encouraging collaboration among Benue and its neighbors to develop shared infrastructure and attract larger investments. Ultimately, by driving economic activity, creating jobs, and boosting overall growth, the forum intends to improve lives not only within the state but across the entire nation. This multi-faceted approach, coupled with the potential for significant media coverage and valuable networking opportunities, is poised to cultivate a vibrant and sustainable investment ecosystem within the state, propelling Benue towards a prosperous future.

What key objectives or goals do you believe this local investment forum should aim to achieve to be successful? Both for local business owners as well as the state government?

For local businesses, the forum presents a unique opportunity to secure funding for expansion, innovation, and job creation. By connecting them with pre-screened investors and financial institutions, the forum can unlock the resources necessary for local businesses to thrive. Additionally, the forum provides a valuable platform for gaining exposure to a wider audience of investors and potential partners. This increased visibility can lead to new business opportunities, collaborations, and partnerships that can propel local businesses forward. Furthermore, the forum’s emphasis on facilitating networking will foster connections between local businesses, service providers, and government agencies, creating a collaborative environment conducive to success. This forum also offers a strategic platform to attract new investments by showcasing the state’s abundant resources, skilled workforce, and government incentives that can attract investors seeking to expand their operations or enter new markets. This influx of investment will stimulate economic growth in the state.

How do you plan to engage local businesses and entrepreneurs to participate and benefit from this investment forum during such tough economic times?

Engaging local businesses and entrepreneurs requires a targeted approach during tough economic times. By prioritising key sectors and emphasizing the forum’s tangible benefits that also addresses economic anxieties, we have made provision for virtual participation options, and local sponsor partnerships to make participation easy and accessible. Because we are also aware of the challenges in the economy, not only in Benue, or the North-Central, but in the whole country, that is particularly why we are having this forum. It would foster a welcoming and inclusive environment by ensuring diverse representation and celebrating local successes. Finally we would implement tools to track the forum’s impact, and gather feedback for continuous improvement, as we aim to do this annually or even bi-annually. There has to be continuous engagement to drive the overall objective.

What category of local investors and stakeholders are expected at the Forum?

We look at attracting a diverse range of local investors and stakeholders, so as to create a vibrant and dynamic platform for investment promotion, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
These specific mix would be;
Individual investors such as High-net-worth individuals and Angel Investors Institutional investors like Banks, Pension Funds and Venture Capitalists would be in attendance.
We also expect representatives from state and local government agencies responsible for economic development and investment promotion, DFIs(Development finance institutions) providing financial and technical assistance to businesses as well as Regulatory bodies overseeing the investment environment are expected. NGOs and Academic Institutions interested in soci-economic development and entrepreneurship of the young populace in Benue are also not left out.

What partnerships or collaborations do you believe are important to establish in order to maximize the impact of this local investment forum?

To maximize the impact of the local investment forum, public-private partnerships for leveraging government resources and private sector expertise are essential, academia-industry partnerships for tapping into research and fostering talent, local community partnerships for building awareness and support, international partnerships for attracting foreign investments, technology partnerships for utilizing digital platforms, and last but not the least sustainability partnerships for promoting responsible economic development.
By establishing these diverse collaborations, the forum can leverage expertise, resources, and network to attain the desired result we all want to see for the State’s economy.

How will you ensure that the investment opportunities presented in this forum align with the local economic development goals and priorities of not just Benue state but also the NC region?

We would make sure of this by using three approaches; Thematic Focus,Regional Collaboration and Impact Assessment.
Our thematic focus allows for the Curation of presentations and discussions to highlight opportunities in priority sectors that we can refer to as the low-hanging fruits and these are Agriculture and Manufacturing.
Mining, Tourism and Hospitality are other Star Sectors that can become Cash Cows, and the aim is to also drive growth in these areas.
We’d go further by encouraging partnerships and joint ventures between Benue State and neighboring North Central states to leverage regional strengths and attract larger investments outside the State, for instance Enugu, Nassarawa and Cross-River are states that share borders with us, and have abundant resources, opportunities and inter-state commerce avenues we can explore as a form of regional collaboration.
Then, we would measure results, as I had stated earlier, we could decide to have this forum annually or bi-anually, in order to drive the impact we want.
Therefore we would be measuring impact by looking at the key indicators we have set out from the on-set.

What metrics or indicators will you use to evaluate the success and impact of this investment forum?

Firstly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), because this a pressing issue for us. The improvement of our IGR to fund our state budget and reduce our reliance on the FAAC Allocation.
From 2018 to 2022, we have only generated about ₦70.5 bn in IGR, averaging ₦14bn yearly in 5 years. We definitely want to improve this number significantly.
Reduction in Unemployment Rate and Number of out of school children are quantitative indices we would be looking out for. We want Increased Number of Registered/Structured businesses in the MSME sector.
Job creation, Infrastructure development, and poverty eradication are qualitative indicators we also want to measure our success by.

Knowing a bit about your background, Can you share any specific experiences or success stories from your previous involvement in similar investment forums that could be relevant to our local context?

Recently I participated in a summit in China on bioresources and economic development for developing countries like Nigeria, I understand the importance of aligning investment opportunities with cash flow stability to ensure long-term growth. To bring this down to our local context, we would be prioritizing investments in sectors with predictable cash flow,many of which I have previously mentioned, then we would promote financial literacy as a crucial step to mitigating cash flow volatility and fostering a more stable and resilient State economy. By understanding the connection between GDP growth and cash flow, we can make better decisions for ourselves as indigenes of the state.

What steps will you take to ensure inclusive participation and representation from diverse local businesses and communities in this investment forum?

This would be ensured through targeted outreach, multilingual communication, virtual participation options, diverse programming, cultural sensitivity, and collaboration with local organizations. We are already working with LGA chairmen and members to sensitize their people and engage key personnel to ensure that the people of Benue know that we have their best interests at heart. We will track participation data, gather feedback, and continuously improve inclusivity down to the bottom line.

During the forum, digital streaming platforms Youtube and Facebook would broadcast the live event to the wider global audience and as we speak, we are already developing an online shared repository for knowledge management, for even after the forum. We would keep this completely open source and transparent for relevant stakeholders to query any form of data/resource uploaded.