Solomon Attah,
Lafia

Arrangement has been finalized to host entrepreneurs to a one-day summit, tagged Nasarawa Entrepreneurs Summit in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

The summit which is scheduled to take place this week, Thursday, August 22, 2019 at the Ta’al conference hotel in Lafia, will or is expected to bring experts and successful entrepreneurs who will sit with other entrepreneurs in the state in a round table to discuss possible challenges, risks, how to grow their businesses and ways that will attracts investors to the state

The summit, according to records is the second in series organized by a lafia based entrepreneurship organization, SKDC Global Links Ltd with support from the Nigeria Investments Promotion Commissions and the Nasarawa State Government.

The theme for this year’s summit, according to the the organizers is “Entrepreneurship: the Economy, Innovation and Evolution

The assembly of the entrepreneurs which will be declared opened by the wife of the Nasarawa State Governor, Salifat Abdullahi Sule, will feature Bankole Williams, founder and Principal Consultant, LYD consulting; Ebitu Ukiwe, CEO, Brandmatic; Rita Idehai, CEO, Ecobarter and representatives from the Nigeria Investments Promotion Commissions and the Nasarawa State Internal Revenue Board.

They are expected to educate entrepreneurs in the state of the required skills to grow their businesses, risks associated therein, the need to pay their taxes among other issues.

Principally, discission on agrobusiness or agropreneurs will dominate the summit, giving that the mainstay of the states economy is agriculture.

Aside from this, some of the issues that hopefully will take center stage at the summit are entrepreneur profiling by the Nigeria Investments Promotions Commissions for possible local and international Investments, entrepreneurial giveaways, export readiness information, customer expansion and funding for startups.

However, the summit is expected to targets entrepreneurs from different sectors of business, such as telecommunication, fashion and style, technology, Agriculture among other profitable ventures.

Of note, revenue experts from the state revenue board will be at hand to give entrepreneurs the right tax education and method, such that will encourage those doing business in the state at whatever levels to contribute by paying theirs promptly.

It is hope that, at the end of the summit inline with SKDC driving force, they would be able to curb the challenges entrepreneurs are faced with.

Speaking on the level of preparation ahead of the August 22 summit, the managing Director, SKDC Global Links Ltd, Stella Ajige said, the essence of the summit is to bring entrepreneurs together to have conversation in the state.

“To curb the challenges hindering Investments, stable economy and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, SKDC will be partnering the Nigeria Investments Promotion Commissions to drilled entrepreneurs on Investments readiness for the state and on how to increase marketing strategy of the state to attracts investors as possible”, she said

According to Ajige, there are local and international investors who have already indicated interest to invest in the state, whereby, at the summit, entrepreneurs will be profile with Investment opportunities, skills and access to investor, she added.

She explained that, all the Investments readiness and parameters will be sorted at the summit to pave way for Investors that will come in to engage locals to invest and sustain their Investment as well.

“The involvement of Nigeria Investments Promotion Commissions is to access potentials in the state, being the federal government agency empowers Investment opportunities in the country.”

“We have noticed that, the retail population of the state keep reducing, as result of the increasing influx of people to the state, especially the Abuja axis.

“We believe that, most of the job to be done shouldn’t be left to government alone. We can contribute to social development of the state.

“I believe that every entrepreneurs who has done Business and has success story in the state can contribute to developing the socio-economy of the state”.

Ajige who acknowledged that, Nasarawa State is lagging behind in terms of Investments, going by the Investment index, she said alot is need to be done by both the entrepreneurs and investors to harness the potentials of the state for maximum profits to the people.

She added, from her experience, a number of entrepreneurs are skeptical to pay money to revenue collectors , because, as according to her, “we don’t know where our money is really going to”.

Ajige tasked small and medium enterprises in the atate to grow their businesses and as well as to equip themselves with the right business skills and knowledge, as this is the only way they can make the right revenue that will enable them contribute to the development of the state.

The managing Director who was optimistic of the success of the summit, noted that, drivers of “small and medium enterprises are major contributors to the rising revenue profile of any country or state.

“Entrepreneurship is now a bid deal. Small and medium enterprises are now contributing massively to the IGR of any nation.

“If only the business owners are taught the right thing to operating a business, it will make it easier for them to want to contribute.

Ajige however called on youths I particular to make use of the opportunities herein to produce agricultural resources that can be exported and add value to their economy.

She observed that, “there is a huge maket in agropreneurs, more so that it is the mainstay of the people, as venturing into it properly, with good branding, the people can go global.

“Agropreneurs is huge market in the global space that it is yet to be sapped in Nasarawa State due to the poor knowledge of the people of its potentials and benefits therein.”

She urged government to get involved deeply in this regard to sensitize business owners on the right thing to do.

She pointed that, as an emerging markets company basically committed to connecting entrepreneurs to opportunities available to them, they would contribute their quarter to the development of the state.

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