Leaders and entrepreneurs in the South-East private sector are united in their determination to establish businesses that will drive economic transformation in the region.
Among those at the forefront of this initiative are Dr. Cosmas Maduka, President and CEO of Coscharis Group; Mr. Johnson Chukwu, Managing Director and CEO of Cowry Assets Management Ltd; Etemore Glover, CEO of Impact Investors Foundation; and Professor Franklin Ngwu, Director of Lagos Business School, along with several other esteemed colleagues.
During a meeting on the fourth quarter economic outlook for the region, they resolved to create a roadmap for the economic development of the region, which would address security and governance challenges while advocating for private-sector-led initiatives.
They also discussed how to leverage the region’s citizens in diaspora (local and foreign-based) for investment in the zone as well as the establishment of an Eastern Economic Summit to provide a focused platform for regional development and advocacy.
Ngwu, who moderated the session, hinted at the massive development needs of the region despite huge human capital and material resources available but untapped. He also indicated that the session was anchored on building consciousness and resolving to take action toward realizing the potential.
He said the private sector initiative has become imperative at this time when it appears that the governments at all levels, especially in the region, appear to be battling with too many distractions from the task at hand.
The discussions led by Mr Chukwu gave some details of the region’s potential while also hinting at the need for the entrepreneurs and other citizens of South East to initiate investment actions to tap the potential and develop the zone.
He likened the circumstance of the South East to that of Jews in dispersal and scattered all over the world but were forced by existential threats in foreign lands to seek a homeland, and collectively,y, they re-established their nation in their fatherland.
“The Jews decided to go back to the place they call Israel together, and they decided to invest whatever they had in the homeland. And by going back to invest, they have gone ahead and established one of the world’s most progressive countries,” he said.
Chukwu disclosed that he has already started investing in building a business in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry in several cities in the Southeast despite the security challenges.
Dr Maduka, President of Coscharis Group, said he greatly believes in the need for the South East Economic Summit to create an integrated regional agenda and strategy to be properly articulated and pursued by all stakeholders.
Maduka stated: “To create and host eastern economic summit where this kind of picture will be presented is now very imperative because a lot of us are not well informed about the potentials that are in the zone.
“With more information on the potentials and capacity of the zone presented to all stakeholders in the Economic Summit, the people will understand that Rwanda, as a country, is less endowed in natural and human resources compared to the South East, but they are doing far better than us.
“The Jews decided to go back to the place they called Israel together, and they decided to invest whatever they had in the homeland. And by going back to invest, they have gone ahead and established one of the world’s most progressive countries,” he said.”
“Why can’t we create it; why can’t we make it happen in our land? We have everything that we require to be a great people.” Dr. Maduka also talked about mobilizing investments from the diaspora and South-easterners residing in other parts of Nigeria and outside Nigeria.
“Today, diaspora people are not those that used to come home from abroad and we support them with some money to go back.
“Today they have dollar power. The beautiful houses we are seeing today in our villages are built by them. “But that is our trait because there is this thing about us that we believe in our home place.
We never go out and forget about home. We have emotional attachments whether we like it or not. It’s not just about profit.
There are what we call social enterprises. It could be just to provide a job; you remember that this is where they gave birth to you. We don’t just cross and forget home completely.
So, most of our people still have that intention. What has happened is that because of this seaport and different environmental challenges, we are, by nature, staying where we earn wealth. We look for frontiers; We are capitalists, and we go to look for opportunities. So we have weakened the people at home”.
Etemore Glover, CEO of Impact Investors Foundation, stated: “I see the potential and I’m going to invest in it.
“We should think more about how we can create a strong economic bloc so that we can mobilize capital, particularly from the diaspora investors. We can have several more from that region who want to invest, but they’re really scared of the security situation. “