Business

Climate Change: GIZ Lead Efforts To Boost Collaboration In Africa

Published

4 months ago

August 28, 2024

Mariam Sanni

The German Agency for International Cooperatives ,GIZ has intensify efforts on climate change by announcing the formation of Association of Africa Climate Adaptation Business Network (AACABN) to foster collaboration among African businesses dedicated to climate adaptation.

Dr. Denis Mujibi of Usomi (Usomi) expressed gratitude to the German government, GIZ, and all stakeholders for their support.

He is the first cohort to establish such an association that is also aimed to build on the program’s momentum on climate adaptation.

The association selected Suleiman Dikwa (Green Sahara Nigeria) as Chairman and Dr. Denis Mujibi (Usomi) as Secretary. The Steering Committee comprises four members: Greg Ikwe (Oklan Best Limited), Elizabeth Mbogo (Nazava), Ibukunoluwa Animashaun (FutuX Agri-consult Ltd), and Greg Ikwe (Oklan Best Limited).

GIZ has endorsed this initiative, recognizing its strategic alignment with their objectives to sustain support for climate adaptation businesses and facilitate investment in the sector.

The establishment of AACABN marks a significant step towards creating a unified network of climate adaptation enterprises across Africa, poised to drive meaningful change and innovation.

Similarly , the two-year program, organized by GIZ, aimed at enhancing business modeling and financial linkages for climate adaptation, has successfully come to a close.

The intensive program engaged 13 select African companies from Kenya and Nigeria, with the final segment held at a summer camp in Feldafing, Germany.

The initiative focused on developing sustainable business models, measuring impact, and preparing companies for investment readiness in the climate adaptation sector. Participants underwent diverse training modules tailored to address various sectors, including:Agriculture, Forestry, Climate-smart technologies , Infrastructure, Irrigation, Water, among others .

Through this program, participants gained valuable insights and skills to refine their business approaches and adapt to evolving climate challenges.

During the closing ceremony, the African Climate Adaptation Business Network was formally established,

The Program Head Denise Engel praised the program’s achievements in promoting peer learning and enhancing business models to attract investments.

Inaugural Members of PrivABoo: Arctic, Infrastructure, Botanic Treasures, CoFarms
Ecocycle,FutuX Agri-consult Ltd, Green Sahara, IrriHub, MajiAgri, Nazava,Oklan Best Limited,Peal, Agro., Usomi, Utooni, and White Gold Camel Milk

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Business

Minister of State For Industry Charges NEPZA on Impactful Performance

Published

6 days ago

December 19, 2024

The Gleamer

Throws Support Behind Current Management

Honourable Minister of State For Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh today Thursday the 19th of December, identified the importance of enhanced performance with direct impact on the lives of the Nigerian people as critical to the implementation of the core mandate of agencies within the Industrial sector of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Speaking when the top management of NEPZA led by the Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi paid him a visit in his office to deliver a progress report on the activities of the authority, the Minister of State for Industry, charged the management of NEPZA to pay greater attention on delivering enhanced performance with focus on industrial matters that will impact the Nigerian people in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration. While expressing his readiness to work closely with the leadership of the authority to achieve this objective, he called for continued engagement with the management of NEPZA to achieve this shared objective.

Presenting his progress report to the Honourable Minister of State, Dr. Ogunyemi stated that NEPZA is committed to repositioning itself through various initiatives to ensure continued growth and excellence. He stated that in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration, the agency has expanded the Free Trade Zones and clusters to 55 across the nation and generated 13,720 jobs in the process

Within the year under review, the authority also registered 39 new enterprises, registered three new trade zones, facilitated the establishment of the Lekki Deep Sea Port development within the Lagos Free Trade Zone in record time and brought in significant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow into the country’s economy. Within the period under review, the Managing Director informed the Minister that the work of the authority has led to the inflow of $1 billion worth of investment into the country from the trade zones this year alone. This, in addition to the sum of N425 billion, the trade zones paid as customs duty to the Nigeria Customs.

NEPZA, he said, is engaging with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NGX), and other stakeholders to draft regulations for listing Free Zone Enterprises on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The listing he said will enable free zone entities, to access additional finance through the Nigerian capital market, create a framework for Free Zone Entities to contribute to the growth of the capital market and enhance NEPZA’s regulatory oversight of listed Free Zone Entities.

He appealed for the support of the Honourable Minister to enable the authority to overcome current challenges. These include outdated legal and regulatory frameworks, limited understanding of the Free Trade Zone concept, multiple taxation by revenue agencies, limited access to foreign exchange, and inadequate infrastructure, among others.

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