PEBEC Unveils 2024 Outlook, Targets 23 Firms with $1bn Annual Earning

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has unveiled its 2024 Outlook, which extends to 23 companies in Nigeria with over $1 billion in annual revenue.

Special Adviser to the President on PEBEC and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, in a statement, justified the approach, citing the need for a faster and more impactful strategy amid economic challenges.

“Out of the 345 $1 billion companies in revenue in Africa, only 23 are in Nigeria. The decision to change models stems from the observation that larger businesses exhibit an ‘osmosis’ effect,” said Oduwole

According to her, PEBEC will be working with the Business Facilitation Act of 2022, signed into law in February 2023.
The Act, she said, is a codification of Executive Order No. 001 from 2017; sub-national interventions, such as the World Bank’s State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) and programme-for-results, currently entering its second year of implementation.

Oduwole noted that there is a $750 million loan available for reimbursing states participating in the SABER programme.
She said: “The business champions intervention targets medium to large-sized industries, with the first part focusing on a pilot cohort of about 23 businesses. This bespoke service aims to assist businesses in navigating the regulatory landscape more effectively.”

She added that legislatively, PEBEC is engaged in reviewing the omnibus bill, a collaborative effort involving over 40 pro bono-contributing law firms, resulting in the 2022 omnibus bill.

Also, PEBEC, she said, is working with state judiciaries to increase small claims courts from eight to 25 in 2023.
Oduwole emphasised the importance of strategic communications interventions to comprehensively disseminate information about reforms, fostering awareness and understanding among businesses and key stakeholders nationwide.