As part of the efforts of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration to attract more Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the state, Edo was among the few states that participated in the two-day strategic technical session on investor targeting and lead generation which was recently held in Abuja to attract Foreign Direct Investments into the country.
Edo, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa and Ogun States are among participants in the strategic technical session organized by Financial Times and LINKS to fast-track inward investments and development.
The objective of the technical session was to discuss strategies of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) in the area of investor targeting and lead generation so as to improve and accelerate investment attraction of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the country.
Highlights of the session include: Importance of Investor Targeting, Investor Targeting Process, Pull and Push Factors for FDIs, Investment Determinants for FDIs, and Linkedin as a Tool for Investor Targeting.
Speaking at the training, the Managing Director, Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO)-Ease of Doing Business Secretariat, Mr. Kelvin Uwaibi, called on Nigeria to start looking at focusing on harnessing youth talents in the area of technology, noting that Edo State is already doing same and the state has effective and efficient Skills Development Agency (Edojobs), tech hub and creative hub (Victor Uwaifo Creative Center) to harness youthful talents.
“I think as a country, Nigerian IPAs, we need to start to look into this sector seriously with a view to training the young population. That way, we can guarantee availability of the required skills and labour force to drive the economy. In Edo State, we are deliberately training the young people on technology. We are determined to make digital skills available because, it is a critical requirement to drive the economy in the nearest future even now,” Uwaibi said.
“These young people when trained on technology, they will be equipped with requisite knowledge in such a way that they can work from their states of origin without necessarily traveling to Ireland for example where life is more expensive. They can be working from here where there is cheaper environment to live in. we have the population of young people. We must therefore make use of the opportunity.”
The technical session was facilitated by Chris Knight, Managing Director of FDI Intelligence from Financial Times, and Mathew Harvey, an Associate at Financial Times.
