Alaghodaro: Ease of Doing Business session to tackle Edo’s investment barriers

Worried by the relative difficulty in starting and sustaining business enterprises in the state, the Edo State Government plans to develop a strategy to improve her investment climate during a special session dedicated to ‘Improving the Ease of Doing Business In Edo’ at the forthcoming Alaghodaro Investment Summit.
The session will be anchored by Dr. Tayo Aduloju of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) and will feature Dr. Jumoke Oduwole of the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) at the Presidency, on Friday, November 10, 2017 at Edo Hotels, Okada Avenue, Benin City.

The Chairman of Alaghodaro 2017 Organising Committee, Asue Ighodalo, said the summit will showcase economic and institutional reforms being implemented by the Godwin Obaseki-led administration, which intends to open up investment opportunities in different sectors of Edo State’s economy.

“Governments are looking beyond oil to alternative revenue sources in order to ensure sustainable development, and we must also get creative and take action today for our future and the future of our children,” Ighodalo said.

Other panelists expected at the Ease of Doing Business session include former Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye; Co-founder, BudgIT, Seun Onigbinde and Andrew Nevin of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC).  

Businesses in Edo State before now were faced with several challenges including expansion difficulty because of the activities of Community Development Associations (CDAs).

In fact, according to sub-national data from the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report in 2014, Edo State ranks 33 in dealing with construction permits, 14 in starting a business, 34 in registering property and 5 in enforcing contracts in comparison with other states in Nigeria.

However, the state government, by passing the Private Property Protection Law, took an important first step in changing the narrative. Alaghodaro Investment Summit, which is to mark the governor’s first year anniversary, will galvanise the investing public to engage with Edo State as Nigeria’s best-kept secret.

The session at the summit is intended to engage with policymakers, development workers, state officials, private consultants, the NESG and EBES to fashion a new template for improving the state’s business environment.

Some of the investment opportunities the state will showcase include its huge potential natural resource deposit, agriculture, industry, human capital, infrastructure, real estate, transport, as well as the institutional reforms being undertaken to make the state investment friendly.