The Niger Delta is ready to receive local and international investors and has the potential to become one of Africa’s leading investment destinations, the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture has said.
The Chairman of the Board of NDCCITMA, Idaere Gogo Ogan, said the region was prepared to move beyond its traditional dependence on crude oil and build a diversified, industrialised and globally competitive economy driven by investment, innovation and enterprise.
Ogan spoke in Port Harcourt on Saturday at a press conference to reaffirm the Chamber’s commitment to hosting the Niger Delta Economic and Investment Summit scheduled for September 15 to 17.
The summit, themed “Driving Investment, Innovation and Industrial Growth in the Niger Delta,” is expected to bring together governments, investors, financial institutions, development partners, project developers and other strategic stakeholders.
Ogan said the summit would provide a platform for stakeholders to explore investment opportunities and promote sustainable economic development across the Niger Delta.
Ogan said the summit was conceived as a private-sector-led platform to mobilise investment, accelerate industrial development and unlock the enormous economic potential of the nine Niger Delta states.
He said: “The Niger Delta is open for business. The region is ready for investment, ready for partnerships and ready to create a new economic future built on enterprise, innovation, industrialisation and sustainable development.”
He said the summit would seek to transform the region from “a predominantly resource-dependent economy into a diversified, productive, industrialised and globally competitive regional economy.”
According to him, the Niger Delta possesses enormous investment opportunities beyond crude oil, including gas and petrochemicals, agriculture and agro-processing, maritime and blue economy, manufacturing, aviation, transportation, renewable energy, tourism, digital economy, logistics, infrastructure and financial services.
Ogan said the three-day summit would not be another talk shop, but an investment and transaction platform designed to connect projects with capital and investors with opportunities.
He said: “Central to the Summit will be dedicated Investment Deal Rooms, where investors, governments, project promoters, financial institutions and development partners can engage directly on identified and bankable projects.
“Our emphasis will be on moving from conversation to transactions, from opportunities to projects, and from commitments to implementation.”
He said strategic investment opportunities to be showcased at the summit would include agro-industrial and oil-palm value chains, gas utilisation and gas-based industries, regional transportation and aviation, maritime infrastructure, industrial and logistics hubs, renewable energy, manufacturing, skills development and digital infrastructure.
Ogan said NDCCITMA would also use the summit to promote stronger economic integration among the nine Niger Delta states through regional value chains, economic corridors, shared infrastructure and investment platforms.
He said the Chamber was seeking strong collaboration with the Federal Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the nine Niger Delta state governments, the organised private sector and development partners to build a sustainable regional investment ecosystem.
The NDCCITMA chairman said the Chamber expected the summit to produce tangible outcomes, including investment commitments, project partnerships, financing opportunities, policy recommendations and implementation frameworks.
He added that the Chamber was committed to making the summit an annual flagship economic platform for the Niger Delta.
According to him, the platform would provide opportunities “where governments meet investors, projects meet capital, businesses meet opportunities and ideas are transformed into productive enterprises.”
Ogan urged Nigerian and foreign investors, corporations, financial institutions, entrepreneurs and development partners to take advantage of the region’s vast economic potential.
He said: “The Niger Delta has the resources. It has the people. It has the market. It has the opportunities.
“What we must now mobilise are the partnerships, investments and collective determination required to convert these advantages into sustainable and shared prosperity.”
He said the region must move “from potential to prosperity, from resources to productive assets, and from opportunities to investments.”
