Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADINVEST) has attracted $2.6 billion investments to Kaduna state with the sixth edition scheduled for September 23 to 24, 2021, the Executive Secretary, Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), Hajiya Umma Aboki, has said.
Hajiya Aboki said on Wednesday that the 2021 edition will see Kaduna state government seek to consolidate on the $2.6 billion in investments it has attracted since 2016, adding that the theme is “Towards a sustainable knowledge-based economy”.
She said this year’s edition will feature both virtual and physical attendance, even as participants are expected to register via the KADINVEST website.
She said Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will be the special guest, while a visiting professor of Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Prof. Celestine Monga, and President of African Export-Import Bank, Dr Benedict Okey Oramah, are the keynote speakers at the summit.
According to her, the summit will focus and revolve around four plenaries, “COVID-19 and Digitization: Building an Ecosystem for Kaduna MSME e-Commerce”; “AfCFTA: Opportunities transforming the Agricultural Sector of Kaduna state”; “The Role of Data in Investments”; and “The Role of Donor Agencies”.
Justifying why this year’s theme was selected, Umma said, ‘’in an era where information is key, building one’s economy with knowledge as a backbone is the best way towards achieving a responsive, innovative and resilient economy, especially after the global exploits of COVID-19.
“Kaduna believes that private investment is the best vehicle for job creation, and it is eager to bring together the private sector, international development partners and development finance institutions to identify opportunities in the state and take the investment initiatives that create growth.
“The short term goal of the summit is delivering on job creation, inclusive economic growth, social-economic transformation and improvement in quality of life through higher productivity and competitiveness. The long – term goal includes investment in public-private partnerships, agro-allied industries, railways, road transport, hospitality and retail.
“The Dangote Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (DPAN) Limited and Tomato Jos Factory will be commissioned during the two-day event, so is the signing of Mutual Accountability Framework with Development Partners. The Galaxy Mall and Kasuwan Magani market will also be commissioned and Governor Nasir El Rufai will launch of Kaduna State’s Tourism Catalogue.”
The Kadipa boss recalled that the five previous editions of KADINVEST have brought about various developments that the state is currently benefitting from.
She listed the benefits to include improvement in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Kaduna state becoming number one state in Ease of Doing Business, active investors interest and industrialization of the state.
The Executive Secretary noted that the massive infrastructural development, promotion of public-private partnerships and privatization are some of the benefits that the state has derived from past editions of the summit.
“This year’s event will again showcase and promote Kaduna state to domestic and international spectators as a major investment destination in Africa including the tourist attractions across the state,’’ she said.
