Ease of Doing Business: German Govt, Investors, Storm Enugu for Investment Opportunities

Oluchi Chibuzor

The government of Germany has expressed its eagerness to strengthen economic cooperation with the government and people of Enugu State, especially in the areas of agriculture, energy, trade and investment.

The industrial giant said that it chose Enugu State as one of its three business and investment destinations in the entire southern Nigeria given its findings on improved ease-of-doing-business under the Dr. Peter Mbah administration and affirmation by the Nigerian media.

The German government spoke through its Consul General, Mr. Weert Börner, who led a delegation of the German business community and the German Corporation for International Cooperation, GIZ, on a working visit to Governor Peter Mbah at Government House, Enugu.

Börner said the visit was in continuation of discussions that started in Lagos in 2023 on increasing German cooperation with Enugu State in the aforementioned sectors.

“So, I am very happy to be here in Enugu city to increase and deepen our conversation on this cooperation. I am also very happy that the delegation with me is comprised of representatives of the DHK (Deutsche Handels Kompetenz), which is our chamber in Lagos for industry and commerce; GIZ, our international cooperation agency and Siemens Energy, a private company that is already doing a lot in Nigeria to improve electricity and energy sector. 

“We get a lot of news by the Nigerian media and through our own office that Enugu State and its own government have improved a lot in the sense of structuring process to get business easier done to improve the infrastructural basis for joint engagement. 

“We are actually very happy about this development. The German government decided to concentrate more on specific states within the Nigerian federal system. And those states from the south are Ogun, Abia, and Enugu State. So, this is why I am here to get our cooperation on a higher and more intense level,” the envoy stated.

While appreciating the Germans for choosing Enugu State as one of their economic partners, Governor Peter Mbah said his administration was very ready and willing to partner with German government and businesses.

Mbah emphasised that the $30billion GDP target his administration set for itself, though high, was realisable through private sector investments and international cooperation, adding also that Nigeria’s much-needed economic growth could only come from the states, not the centre.

“I want to put on record our deep appreciation to you for selecting Enugu as one of the three southern states you want to partner with. We are really excited about this essentially because though we are subnational, our ambition and the goals we have set for ourselves are national in scale.

“We plan to grow the economy to a point that is unprecedented. If you look at the target, we set for ourselves to grow the economy from $4.4bn to $30bn in the next seven years. It appears too ambitious because you are talking about a sevenfold growth and you are looking at a compounded annual growth rate of 27 per cent, but we think it is realisable because we are looking at unlocking a lot of the economic potentials of the state that have not been touched,” he said.