Nasarawa state government said it has put in place irresistible investment incentives to attract local and foreign investors to the state. The Governor of the State Egnr. Abdullahi Sule in a virtual meeting with reporters in Banana Island Lagos said that one of the state strategy is an investment summit which is coming up between 11th and 12th May 2022. Sule said “as a State, we have been very deliberate about stimulating our economy, building our people’s human capacities, and creating wealth and jobs for them. This is the basis of the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy (NEDS) (2019-2023), which is a testament to our collective commitment to implementing a practicable Economic Transformation Strategy for the State, as promised during our campaign. It is founded on a vision to sustain accelerated growth of the Nasarawa economy driven by the private sector and translating this to a clear improvement in citizens’ lives and the achievement of other key development outcomes.
Governor Sule further said “the implementation of the NEDS is already reflecting in not just improved outcomes in key areas of the State, but also in terms of development impact. For instance, through reforms, we have significantly increased our Internally Generated Revenue by 49% in 2020 (a COVID-19 tainted year) and already on track to surpass that in 2020. An independent evaluation platform (Kingmakers) has also shown that Nasarawa has moved ranks on Standard of Living from 24th position in the country in 2016, to 12th position in 2020. Our ease of doing business and investment promotion effort has also seen us attract over $500 million investments into key sectors in the State within the last 3 years. To solidify our position as a key investment destination in Nigeria and by extension the west African region, we are hosting our Inaugural Nasarawa Investment Summit in Lafia on 11th and 12th of May 2022. The Summit is themed “Diamond in the Rough; The Making of a New Investment Frontier”. Ghana’s 13th President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama will deliver the summit keynote address and will be attended by Captains of industry, renowned members of the business community, investors, International and domestic partners, diplomatic corp and the political class.
“Our objective is to challenge the old ways of addressing our economic challenges with new innovative ideas leveraging our geography, people and new business climate. We will have 6 high level plenaries, an MSME challenge to help stimulate small businesses involvement in our economic activities and a Deal room showcasing bankable investment opportunities in our state. This is a unique summit in that it will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, including leaders from a wide range of businesses, to discuss the state’s socioeconomic challenges and prospects over the next decade. On that day, we’ll demonstrate our enormous potential and investment opportunities in two of our most well-known industries: agriculture and mining. The Nasarawa State Government recognises the need for a robust private sector for economic development and revitalisation, which is why we have built an effective Public-Private-Partnership framework that allows for long-term private sector participation. This has aided in the establishment of a favourable and enabling environment for increasing private sector investment, which has resulted in the creation of jobs, revenue, and overall economic development in the state. Nasarawa is indeed, a diamond in the rough and I am determined to make it Nigeria’s top Investment frontier.
According to the state “Nasarawa is abundantly blessed with fertile land, natural resources, and human resources. It is primed to be an investment powerhouse and economic hub in Nigeria by virtue of its abundant solid mineral resources, strategic location, rich agricultural and tourism potential, and vast arable land. Amongst the abundant mineral resources presently available in Nasarawa State are limestone, iron ore, crude oil and natural gas, barite, gold, gypsum, kaolin, marble, and lead/zinc. These present tremendous opportunities for investments in the solid mineral sector. The State is also endowed with some gold deposits which occur in pegmatite-quartz veins within Precambrian basement rocks in Wamba. The Metasedimentary rocks in Toto, Udegbe, Gadabuke, Laminga, and Nasarawa also contain some gold deposits. Nasarawa state is blessed with other varieties of gemstones and the important ones in terms of quantity include; aquamarine, emeralds, sapphire, ruby, topaz, tourmaline, zircon, and almandine. By creating concrete business partnerships, allowing both domestic and foreign investors to tap into investment opportunities in the State, these economic opportunities can be explored to realise sustainable economic growth for the State and its private sector partners. Nasarawa State is also home to amazing tourist attractions with an array of hills and rocks dotting its landscape. Its beautiful hills, rocks and other natural edifices offer tourists unforgettable sight-seeing experiences. From the famous Mada Hills and Rukubi Hills, both at Akwanga, to Ava and Eggon Hills, Efugogiri Hills and Mail Rumba Rock at Doma, to the Farin-Ruwa WaterFalls at Wamba, to Captain Maloney Hills at Keffi and then Numa rock at Akwanga.
Further, Nasarawa State boasts of significant real estate opportunities due to its strategic location and proximity to Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. Karu and Keffi have the potential to tap from the economic and social opportunities in neighbouring Abuja by becoming a city that can provide adequate and affordable housing options for low and middle-income earners working in Abuja. It offers them an amazing opportunity to live in Nasarawa State while working in Abuja. The recently completed Karu Mega Bus Terminal can accommodate more than 900 buses and 20,000 people daily, as well as the proposed Abuja-Keffi rail line provides an appropriate transportation option to move residents between Nasarawa State and Abuja daily. Today, the Nasarawa State investment opportunities are widely spread across five strategic investment clusters which include; Oil and Gas, Solid Minerals, Agro-allied Industry, Information Technology & Logistics as well as the Service sector. Investors in Nasarawa State capture the full spectrum of opportunities that it offers. From Agriculture to Oil and Gas, Solid Minerals, Information Technology & Logistics as well as the Service sector. Investment in Nasarawa will reflect a brilliant shine across many sectors as growth in one sector unlocks immense potential across all sectors. Your investments will reflect the same glitters and rainbow colour like a diamond on both the state economy and its citizens.
The summit is expected to “build and enhance private sector involvement in good governance and policy making, especially as it involves the delivery of the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy (NEDS), and also provide an inclusive platform and methodology that promotes the participation of all key stakeholders in the implementation of the NEDS; inform ongoing efforts to facilitate technology development and transfer of technology to Nasarawa State; form development partnerships with public and private sector players that will stimulate production and have a developmental impact across the state; identify impediments and obstacles to investments in Nasarawa State from the perspectives of governments, investors, international finance institutions, and businesses; showcase multi-sectoral project-specific opportunities available to investors in the state; and
attract investment from local and foreign investors to facilitate projects and programs that will unlock sustainable socio-economic development of Nasarawa.
The Summit Keynote Address will be delivered by H.E John Dramani Mahama, the Former President of the Republic of Ghana. The key summit highlights include globally engaging plenaries, an investment driven Deal Room, and the Nasarawa MSME Challenge for young entrepreneurs. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (“MSME”) represent an important sector of our economy. It currently represents 96% of the businesses in Nigeria and contributes 75% of the National employment and 49% to our national GDP. Of the 41.5 million MSMEs in Nigeria, over 99% of these are micro-enterprises. Thus, growth in this sector is directly correlated with growth in the economy as a whole and in the level of employment throughout Nigeria. The Nasarawa MSME Challenge 2022, an initiative of the Nasarawa State Government in collaboration with local and international development partners, is a pitch competition targeted at providing SMEs with access to capital and adequate government and private sector support that will enable them to establish, build and grow their business.“Funding, fostering and fuelling SME and ICT growth”.
