i:.c4()O()lniic transfonnation dependent on investment climate - LCCr by its Director-General, Mr. Muda Yussuf, saki it
HE Lagos State Chamber pI Commerce and l ndus~. Nigeria's foremost cnamber and advocacy group. has said lhat the , Iran fo~lion of the Nigerian economy is critically dependent on lhe fluality of inl tment climate in the land. The body sated this in its end-of-the ·year economic outlook, titl~""The 2011 Report on 1: Busiress Environment n Nige~ ~ II 1"''aS l'T'\a~e ~ab1e tO jOUT co~en In on
undertook an evidence· based assessment of the business environment. wilh inputs from its memben and stakeholders in the Nigerian economy. before arriving al the positions presenled. According to the LCCI,
T
" I '" " '. . . .
y.
ti
I
the evidence-based review of the business environment revealedtwomajorcategories of dlallenges. It said one 01 the challenges faced by the business environment was the high cost of pov.!eT supply. which reduced the profit margin o f many finns
in the year under review. It Sc)id, MFirms!epOrleci thai the most aitk:al problem faced In 2011 was the unbeanlbJe energy cost, which was a coosequence of the appalling state of the ptlINWsector. The~1ing cost of diesel, LPFO, aviatkxl l'ueJandgasrefiectsthisreality.
1ne outcome was that profit margins of many firms were COfUklerably eroded and the survival 01 many businesses was put at risk.. It also noted that high cost of inpu ts, especially imported rtlwf'T'Ialerials, machineryand equipment. posed additional chaDenges. W
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Explaining the ratio nale behind Ihe submission, the I Ic hamber, In Ihe rzport signed
a n exp I ains ISeam n ew outl et'sl
I
unvei I in g
-,
~E Managing f Director.
ITSeaman
I
Group.
M'·I has Identified the need to bring .suitable phones doser Id the
I Agbanari.
Emeka
\
publicaslhe~ it optned new off!fe~r Ik,*. ~. Agbnari staled this during
=
the officia1 ppening ofl the, new office in lkeja recently. He said. 'Wearepartnering with teIecQ~ ptQIIjdm ID bel abielop!"OvideN~~
I~er:'
L
·ut Consultant, /Iolk/n Rice Reid, Dr. Rotiml FashoIa; Gooemor &batunde fcrshoJ(l oj Logos State; Dim:tot; NUFAM Agm Services. Mr. LawoJ Ram; (ltld Comm.issioner for Agricullure and Cooperatjues, Mr. Gbolahan lawai, during an inspeaIon of rice field In Bodogry (IFftJ of lAgos Slote ...00 Thursday. PhoUx NAN.
o~atdi=~ p\' C.~~wpea t--.. tion .• driving ongomg ·. · silent economic revolution in Nigeria - llTA I
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iodivkluals, and we art! 'n the areas of OOIA/pea .{llaking them very ac.ces:sible __uuction .J ( p .... and processing in to gel~ Nigeria, as income from the The Seaman boss noted crop keeps improving rural that the company had livelihoods ' the n : the invested in different sedori, (where it Idisttnguished itself TropiaII Pqiruiture has said. through satisfllCory services According 10 a statement tinued it had to provid , . e by the body on Wednesday, for years. ! , The rLTm 's lICtivities, he funnen; and processors in Osu, a oommunity in the noted. had WOII h different awanis fa- services rendered. South West region of N"?gerla, For l8a5on, he said have 5lIid that processing the Seaman Group , deemed protldn-ridl aop inlo cakes, Ii b. . alth f popularly kna.Im as akara,
Intema~
Insti:
:or
thfs
~~nck ~~:s th"': ~e ~=iItin;f a ~vei: business to "jIec! 'the rF,s
of differJnt people in the society. On
II 1
•
~ ~p's new focus .
hesak1thefi~' waspartnpng
....i !h ! Itel OInmunication """""' , "'" I ...J. as Mrn l Aiflel.. and 5laTtIJ lIlnong others. He added h{Li with the -ning 01 ,Jle new office, ~ people would. b l able to get any type o f ptlone end phone accessories of th~r choices. He said. -VJewan t logive people the g<XXI services in places were I1hOrteS lUl! sold In the countrY. We lire setting up one of the best sel'Viai centres ~ the1coontry. 1.jJhen! wstomers uAu valUe fol their money.~I
'~;i'iY rsa~ne
nwe
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~Some firms complained about the volatility 01 the exchange rate and the challenges it posed for business operations, espeda.lly planning. High import duty, Value Added Tax and ports charges lUl! other challenges, all of which are percentages of cost of imports, ~ il said. It lamented the multiplicity of agencies at the ports; the tedious bureaucracy in documentation and rampant extortion, Mgiving respondents an awfut and fl'UStrating experience in the course of cargo dearance. Tho <hamM """"- "It lakes an il'R11IIQe of two 10 four weeks 10 dear cargoes at the pons. These had implicalions on \he mst d borro.A.oed funds, which were used for the
passing through Osu town. located between lIe-lfe and llesha. stop daiJy to buy the popular 'akara Osu' from the vendors and eat. An ~ vendor. Mrs. 0Iaiya OIuwakemi, was quoted as saying. "The henentsatemany. Fromhying of akara alone, I have been a...... to ord sending my son ID the university. I built a house and now own a car." She .said she had tried other ventures In the past bu t lhe processing of oowpea grains into akat'a remained the most viable option. The business has grown in the last sewn years, rulminaling in her cunently employing
"'-.
more than 2O~, On the
the processing of ~
saying.
average, she said she made pro fiLts 01 "_."""w=n Nl5tJO ($10) and N2tXx> ($ 13) daily. According to [ITA. in a try when! boul 50
in the community. It
Elsewhere in the northern part 0 1 N~~....---."..... ,... to cowpea production, this Iegumnous aop has ~ 10 be a wriIabIe SOUItll! of income for farmers and pnxessors. In Bomo, Katsina, Kaduna,
Wi:\S
said thet most 0 1 the houses bullt in Osu have at least the foundation laid with inoome
::~of dw ~00n on less than $2 per day, !his is
from akara. Consumers interviewed said the protein-ric:h crop
a lot of cash. ~I haw tried other ventures but this is JUst the best. Mshe reiterated.
from
ttv!:
Anoihercowpea proce5!5CK, Olief Mrs.. OIorunisola. was
=~:~~
=:n
er her . managing business in the last 30
the ye<US,
OIorunisola now owns the
~ing I~~ ~ business
U5e5
kiIogram"' :.l .
about 100 of cowpea -,_I &,1..
=7. .
"""'''! it.:
~ns~ :>_._
liN"""..!. .
spread across
~Income om the firm has helped OIorunisoia to buikl ~ houses. The third, a 3-storey building. is stiD under ronstruction." thebodysaid. Three of her children were saki to have graduated from tho3 univmity. thanks to income from akara. like O!uwakmli and OIorunisola.. Iseveral other processors had benefited from
replenishes lost energy arising
fatigue
experienced
during long journeys. ~ [ look forward to ealing akara osu ~ I am traveling on thl5 route.~ a passenger-by, Friday Adeshina, was quoled as
Kana stales and as far as Niger Republic.cowpeafunners, VJho adopl2d
_-I
im"""""" cowpea
varieties
and management practices. reported an awTagIi! of 55 per oent rise in IMir ncomes. aa:oding 10 dala from the DTA
impor1alion, and demurrage charges. among OChers.· 1 II also said that firms experienced weak consumer demand, resulting in Ja.y patronage for many sec10rs and h9t mnsumer resistanc:::II . , 1'here were indications of significant contraction in aggregate demand and II deceleration in the lempo of economic activities during the year, These adver5ely aITroed investors. ~ it said.
,, __ -' M<.4Ufuing
L_
to
10 ...
:;;!:d ::h :~~::
challenges. induding the shortage of manpowe:r and Ismuggling, Which slows the pace oHts activities. "F'trms in professional services and construction industry reported declining quality of skiDs in the economy. Many formal sedor businesses in the distributive trade sector lamented the rampant smuggling by Informal sector operatives which cmaled competitiveness challenges," illamented.
LBS backs FG's drive on youth ennwrenetoiaJ devt Sodlq Oy~l ek~ '"r'HE Enterprise 1 Development Centre 01 the Pan ~ University. the erstwhile Llgos Business School, has expressed a strong backing for the Federal Government's cuneol drive to\WA1ds making Nigerian youths embrace seIfemployment by supporting innovative business ideas. Speaking at the group's recent 2011 Alumni Conference 0 in lagos. Mt. Ernest Ndukwe, said with the o.ITTent[evelofunemployrnent, seU.employrnent was the only source of income for many, including the poor people
through
the
development
of Small and Medium-scaJe Enterprises. He.said, "SMEs help the economy by aeaIing competition in the market place leading to multiplicity of choice and better pricing for gcxxis and services. [ts' 5lJcce:..-s affed5 the weD-being 01 the ~ and ~ as eng.nes 01 Job creation, eoonomic growth and innoYalion."
Acr.ording to Ndukwe, the I1lO5I important role of 5MEs in the eo;:JfIomy of a nation is the redudion in dependeocy. ~ich results in increase in per c:apila income and ledlllological developmenL
I
"SMEs represenl
a.x!:l
99
per cent of the private sedor
companies in most countries. where it employs over 50 per ami of all private sector worke:r1..l1 represents a polent of ....,""".""'nee. can export earnings; they are essential fOfpoverty reduction. -~-ing CI.JUntries and they mnstilute an importance $CJI.lIQ! for 1..................:-' innoIJaIion, - he s:1~ Hestres5edthattheFedeRli Government's central role of stimulating growth of SMEs in the (X)Untry was a good drive that wouJd address some factors limiting them from easy access to funds.
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