FG to Reduce Cost of Doing Business for Start-ups

By Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole

The Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu has said he and other presidential aides will discuss challenges young entrepreneurs are facing to set up their own businesses with meet Vice President Yemi Osibanjo with a view to finding lasting solution to them.

Ojudu made this known during the three-day start-ups tech week held recently in Abuja under a theme, “Rebuilding and Scaling in the New Normal,”

The programme was organised by Seed builders to discuss the way forward for start-ups in the wake of COVID-19.

Ojudu asked the organisers to put together all the challenges faced by start-ups.

He said he and the Senior Technical Assistant to the Vice President on Community Engagement. Dr Ebi Awosika, would present them to the Vice President.

He said: “All complaints that have been made here today and any other ones that are known to the panellists should be itemised and handed over to us. Ebi and I will go and sit with the Vice President and tell him the problems of start-ups.”

He said government would create start-ups centres to reduce the pressure on politics.

He said: “The start-ups will have advantage of resources, infrastructure and business opportunities.

“Let us create these hubs where all kinds of cottage resources can be found and they will have advantage of power, location and all their suppliers will know where they are going to find them.”

The co-founder of Seed builders Hub, Olaoluwa Olorunnisomo said that he had to gather stakeholders to discuss the way forward for start-ups in Abuja.

He said: “As you know there was a Covid-19 pandemic which affected virtually all businesses, entrepreneurs and even the tech ecosystem. Because of that we said, let’s have a three-day event where we will be able to bring the relevant stakeholders to talk about how we can build a more resilient environment for business to thrive.”

The Director, General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHT), Nura Kangiwa said, the agency had done a lot to improve the hospitality industry in Nigeria.

The DG who was represented by the Director, Studies, Research and Development, Taiwo Famogbiyele said the future of the hospitality industry “is bright if only we can set the necessary steps and follow them.”

He said the ministry of information was pushing for a bill to standardise the quality of staff in the hospitality industry to standardize the workforce in the hospitality industry.

In addition he said, the youths should stop seeing the industry as a business only the elites could invest in.

He advised them to invest in areas such as pastry, restaurant and others.

Charles Sylvester, a United Kingdom based Nigerian entrepreneur said Nigerians having difficulty in exporting their products should contact him through the Nigerian Diaspora Commission or the Nigerian Export Council and that he would be glad to assist.