KADINVEST is showcasing Kaduna to the world – KADIPA

In spite of Covid-19, the yearly Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADINVEST) is holding today and in this interview, Executive Secretary of Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) UMMA ABOKI, explains how.

Today, the fifth edition of Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit is holding, how significantly different is this edition from previous ones?

Thank you very much. I think the most significant difference is the fact that we are holding the summit virtually and this is because of the new normal for everyone in the world because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But even though we are holding this year’s event virtually, I think we are going to have a much more interactive summit between today and tomorrow. Participants from all around the world will be sitting down in the convenience of their homes and just logging in and joining us in the conversation. We are streaming it live on all our social media platforms so that everybody will be able to participate. We will take questions across the social media channels. So, not just people that will be live on the zoom session but other people can also join us via Facebook or Youtube and all of that; they will follow the conversation and we will take their questions. So, I think that really is what is most significantly different in this year’s edition.

How many investors are participating in this year’s summit?

Talking about participation, as at the time we closed registration we had about 1,500 registered participants. This registration cuts across the world. We have registered participants from Europe, from America, from Asia, from United Arab Emirates; so, we are very happy with the feedback and the registered participants that we have. We have our investors already and we are expecting new investors that have registered as the summit progresses.

How relevant is this year’s theme, which is ‘’Infrastructure, Industrialization and Innovation’’, to the investment climate of Kaduna state? Why did you choose it?

Okay, I think this is the right time to discuss infrastructure, discuss industrialization with regards to innovations. So, the new normal has forced everyone to think of doing things differently. One of the major incentives for investment promotion is the right infrastructure and what we want to showcase and discuss what Kaduna state has put in place to ensure that we have those infrastructures that will ensure that our investors are happy and to ensure an enabling environment for everyone. So, that is part of the reasons why we chose to discuss infrastructure. Another thing is, of course everybody knows that finances are dwindling across the world, so you’ve got to find innovative ways of ensuring that you provide those infrastructures. So, we will look at what the investment opportunities in the infrastructure space are; that’s part of the discussion that will happen between today and tomorrow. Industrialization is something that this administration is set to do. It is part of our priority sectors. We would like see that we industrialize Kaduna state because we have a teeming population of youth and the industries are the ones that provide the most jobs. We want to ensure that our youth have avenues to expand their energies and all of that. Innovation of course encompasses everything. How do we put everything together? How does innovation come to play in ensuring that these things are driven properly? How do we do agriculture differently? How do we ensure that we have food security? There is some form of innovation across the whole value chain of agriculture and that is why we chose the theme for this year’s summit.

A cursory look at the list of speakers suggests that it is highly loaded in favour of Economists and people in the financial sub-sector. Given the theme, why are there no industrialists on the panel of speakers and why are people from the building sector not on the list?

Okay, our keynote speakers are, like you said, mostly Economists and I think we did that for a purpose because you can’t do investment drive without having the right economic policies and these people are subject matter experts, even though they are Economists. They have a lot of knowledge across the sectors that we have chosen to talk about and they are keynote speakers who really would give us their thoughts; just a couple of papers on what they think of these topics. But our panels are filled with subject experts in the four sectors that we are going to speak on       toady. They are subject experts, they are professionals and they will do justice to the topics which is really good for the summit.

Beyond the gathering of experts to jaw-jaw and brainstorm about infrastructure, innovation and industrialization, what is the take-away for Kaduna state? What does the state stand to benefit from this summit?

Wow, there are a lot of things that we believe will be takeaways and expected outcomes from this summit. One of the things is showcasing the commitment of Kaduna state towards creating jobs and all-round economic empowerment for its youthful population, exposing our priority sectors to even more innovation and potential investors, particularly in agriculture, manufacturing, industrialization, ICT and all of that. We hope to see an increased inflow of fresh investments on the back of KADINVEST 5.0. We have done well in driving investments, but there is still a lot more to do and there are still a lot more opportunities. So we believe that, discussing these three sectors virtually across the world would actually attract the necessary investments that we want in all our priority sectors. We would have greater insight into approaches, processes and methods that make Kaduna state the preferred investment destination.

We would have comprehensive educational discussions leading to greater enlightenment on the design, implementation and sustenance of a viable investment strategy for Kaduna state and of course, we would be adopting actions for high level engagements on implementation of quick-wins. And finally, we are really going to have that conversation and we have brought everybody to this state, showcasing what we have done, especially with our Urban Renewal Projects. For Kaduna state, everybody will agree with me, especially for people that have come to Kaduna or have seen it online that, there is really a new Kaduna City and Kaduna is open for business and ready to get more investments into the state.

So far, how many companies have set shop in Kaduna state owing to previous editions of KADINVEST and what is the volume of investment?

We have about 50 companies, both foreign and local investors, who have come through KADIPA. There are also investors who came in on their own and have businesses and companies in Kaduna state. We have been meeting with the owners of such businesses and bringing them on board. KADIPA also provides after-care services for already set up businesses and investors, whether or not they came in through KADIPA. We meet with the investors and advise them on how to make their businesses grow. We have recorded some big investments in the likes of Olam Poultry Feed Mill, Hatchery and Breeders Farm and Mahindra Tractor Assembly Plant, Tomato Jos Processing Plant to mention a few. And in the last six months, KADIPA has raked in about $2.6 billion, according to Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, from the agriculture, mining, power and aviation sectors. The African Steel Investment is about $600 million, it is the single largest investment in sub-Saharan Africa, we are very proud to achieve that feat.

In previous editions of KADINVEST, there used to be sessions for ground breakings and commissioning of projects. Why is this year different?

We have put the commissioning on hold because of Covid-19 protocols both for Nigeria and also for Kaduna state, which is why we may not do that. Covid-19 also has slowed down some of our projects that ordinarily would have been due for commissioning by now. We really wanted to commission our Dangote-Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Factory which is a joint venture between Dangote, Kaduna State Government and Peugeot of France, to build a Peugeot Automobile Assembly Plant in Kaduna state. It is at an advanced stage of completion but Covid-19 has slowed down the completion date. But we will still showcase that as we go along the year, even if not at KADINVEST but we will still let the world know that these investments are alive.

By the way, where is this Dangote Peugeot Automobile Company situated? Is it within the premises of the old PAN or it has a new location of its own?

No, no, no, it’s a new one and it’s on Kaduna – Abuja road, just opposite our Agro-Allied Industrial Zone. It is in Dutse town which is very close to one of the Railway Terminals within Dutse town.

KAD Facts

• The maiden edition of Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADINVEST) 1.0 was held from 6^th – 7^th April, 2016, with the theme, ‘Let’s Move Kaduna into the Global Economy’;
• KADINVEST 2.0 held from Wednesday 5^th – Thursday 6^th April 2017 and the theme was “Making Kaduna the Investment Destination of Choice”;
• International investors from EU countries and the United States, including Kaduna-based investors like Olams Group, Dangote Group of Companies and Vicampro attended;
• Former Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II’s keynote address focused on “Promoting Business in the Midst of Economic Challenges”;
• Governor Nasir El-Rufai launched the of Ease of Doing Business Charter;
• The governor also launched of Kaduna Infrastructural Master Plan, detailing the physical and social infrastructure needs of the state from 2017-2050;
• He launched the Kaduna Sector Implementation Plan (SIP);
• The theme of KADINVEST 3.0, which held in April, 2018, was ‘’Partnership for Development” and it focused on building Human Capital;
• The fourth edition of the summit, KADINVEST 4.0, held in April last year with the theme, ‘’Expanding Investment Frontiers;’’
• Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Group of Companies, commended Kaduna State Government’s drive in attracting private investments;
• He praised Governor El-Rufai for creating an enabling business environment as Kaduna State was ranked number 1 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2018 report;
• Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi described El-Rufai as a pacesetter which other governors should emulate;
• The monarch gave Governor El-Rufai the ‘’Man of the Moment’’ award.