By Ngozi Okpalakunne
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Temtola Adekunle-Johnson has reaffirmed the commitment of President Tinubu’s administration to a single digit interest rate for MSMEs to encourage local investments.
He stated this at the 11th edition of Nigerian Diaspora Direct Investment Summit (NDDIS) held in London with the theme: “Invest Nigeria, Invest Africa’. Business to business match making networking summit’’.
In a statement co-signed by the NDDIS media manager, Doyin Ola and the assistant media manager, Maureen Layokun, Adekunle-Johnson highlighted the various initiatives the presidency has implemented to create jobs and support the survival and growth of emerging businesses in Nigeria.
He pledged to work with the NDDIS to promote and create a partnership that will further boost employment and SME promotion for Nigeria.
According to him in the statement, ‘‘We will now work hand in hand with your organisation for the good of our country.’’
The founder of NDDIS, Prince Bimbo Roberts Folayan said: “This is the first time our organisation would be given the power by philanthropic funders to screen multiple applications for projects that meet the United Nations SDG goals for grants ranging from $600,000 to over $50m across Nigeria and Africa.’’
He called on Kaduna and Akwa Ibom states and business delegates to come up with as many projects as possible to benefit from this grant.
The statement therefore, reads in part: “Nigerians in Diaspora Commission NIDCOM and the Nigerian High Commission in London are the two main partners of the NDDIS from inception 11 years ago.
“The Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) who supported the summit last year was unable to participate this year because of the ban on public travels by the government.
“NDDIS in spite of its challenges and lack of sponsorship has become so invaluable in Nigeria that NIDCOM has adopted the same template and model to mobilise investments into Nigeria during the annual NDIS in Abuja and the Federal government has started work on the Diaspora Trust Fund kick started from London at NDDIS several years ago.’’
According to the release, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, who was represented by the chairman of the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation, Ide Owodiong Idemeko, gave an engaging lecture on the state’s vast potential.
While the Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora and Special Duties, Maureen Okogwu-Ikokwu pledged to meet as many potential project owners as possible before returning back to Nigeria.
Then, chairperson and CEO of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri Erewa who was represented by Head of Technology Transfer and Innovation at NIDCOM, Terab Abdulrahman pledged to continue to work with the Diaspora to mobilise investments into Nigeria.