By Ighomuaye Lucky. O
The Chairman, Nigerian Capital Development Fund (NCDF), Hareter Babatunde Oralusi, has commended the Edo State governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo for creating a conducive environment for business activities to thrive in the state.
He gave the commendation while addressing Journalists shortly after him and his team paid a courtesy call on the governor at the Government House in Benin City.
Mr. Oralusi said that the governor has started on a very good note and that, NCDF is poised to work with such administration to achieve its aims and objectives.
“Our mission in Edo State is to support the administration of his excellency to be able to achieve developmental objective and to deliver as much as possible in the shortest period of time through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
“What attracted us to Edo State is the activeness of the governor and what we have seen in the shortest period since he assumed the office as the governor.
“So, he encourages everyone and that’s why our technical team and the representatives of foreign investors are also in Nigeria to support us to make sure that we support the government in his objectives.
“We are looking into investment into the renewable energy. We are looking to investment into the local government and the capacity development of the local governments.
“And also, we are looking to showcase Edo state in the international community”, Oralusi said.
The NCDF boss pointed out that the government alone cannot provide the needed jobs for its teeming population, which is majorly youths thus, necessitating them to invest in various sectors of the economy across the country.
“We are impact investing institution established for over 15 years and we are basically investing in several states and we have investment in sustainable infrastructure. Our business focus is what gives us financial returns and social impact.
“We have invested in renewable energy, affordable housing, community infrastructure developmental projects, and also particularly start ups.
“We have invested in start ups in the country where we have objective of creating 10,000 businesses for young people across Nigeria”, he said.
He maintained that Edo State is famous for its arts and tourism, stressing that, it will be a win-win for NCDF to work with the state government to boost its tourism sector.
“We hope that we’re able to organize an international fares and road shows with the state government where we can showcase the opportunity in the creative sector in Edo state.
“Like you already said, you know what the state has. So, that will attract a lot of market, I mean, international market.
“That will be opportunity to also get more foreign direct investments in Edo State and create different, more of a tourism centres in Edo State.
“Edo is a cultural state, is a creative state, is an art state.
“So, putting all these together, I am very sure that the road show, international road show plan for Edo state will yield a very good result” , Oralusi added.
He however promised to work with the state governor in order to achieve his developmental strides in the state.
