— Earmarks ₦50bn MSME Fund to review Igbo apprenticeship scheme
— Warn against political balkanization
— Hold economic summit in Enugu
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA—IN what appears to be a wake-up call, the ongoing demolition of buildings in Lagos State may have provoked some Igbo leaders and entrepreneurs of Igbo extraction to begin to think of investing in the South East.
Already some industrialists have assembled ₦50 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSME Fund to resuscitate the Igbo apprenticeship scheme.
Speaking at a road show/townhall meeting with the theme: “Remaking South East as Economic Power House,” the Executive Secretary of the South East Business and Investment Summit, SIBES, Dr. Ifedi Okwenna, said with what was happening in Lagos, it was a high time for Ndigbo to invest at home.
He said SIBES has packaged bankable projects worth between ₦100 and ₦200 billion in thematic areas such as agriculture, ranching, energy, and creative arts, designed to attract joint ventures and boost regional production and export capacity.
Dr. Okwenna, explained that the launch of a ₦50 billion MSME fund dedicated to revitalizing small businesses in the South East, targeting youth and women entrepreneurs.
He said the fund aims to accelerate economic stability by supporting the resuscitation of the traditional Igbo apprenticeship scheme, which has declined due to changing youth attitudes toward long-term mentorship.
The SIBES Executive Secretary described the upcoming summit in Enugu as a pivotal step to realign investment focus within the South East, fostering regional development and integration while also preparing for major infrastructure projects like the Southeastern rail line.
He said: “We are launching a 50 billion Naira MSME fund, which is going to be launched on 26th. That MSME fund is a fund we want to put aside, a dedicated fund to re-energise the MSMEs in the South East.
“You realise that we are the hub of MSMEs, and we are not doing well again. The Igbo Apprenticeship Scheme, which involved that MSME, is dying. And because that is dying, what do we need to do? We need to put an accelerator, so that if you go learn business, learn trade, learn production in a small scale and you don’t have the working capital, you get into the MSME fund.
“And there is a fintech we are attached to, there’s a microfinance bank that will monitor and dispose the fund. So that is on one side, that one is meant to accelerate economic stability and then social Security for the young. It’s mainly for the youth and women.
“Then we are talking of the bankable projects which we have already packaged. Now those is between 100 billion to 200 billion, because we took about eight thematic areas, which we studied. We did feasibility studies, worked the business plan, breakeven point, everything, so that it will be easy for joint ventures to be formed. And then, key projects like ranching, we want to give meat to produce.
“Because after Lagos, were are the largest consumer of beef, so we want to have our own ranches across the South East, we have to produce meat factories, so that you can give yourself meat.
“Then we want to have an agro hub. We are already working with the port terminal, so that we can have an agro hub for export.
“Then equally, we are looking at power, we are looking at energy, we are looking at security, we are looking at sports, creative arts. So these are small, small, low-hanging fruit we want to start. We call it low-hanging fruit.
“We are coming to the second phase, after five years. The second phase is when we start talking about the rail line, the South Eastern rail line, which is already being worked out. That will link to the federal line.”
Also speaking, a former PDP National Chairman Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo reminisced about the vibrant industrial and economic development of the Southeast region during the pre-civil war era, crediting visionary leaders and entrepreneurs for creating the fastest-growing economy in the world at that time.
He highlighted the industrial corridor from Port Harcourt to Abakiliki, which included iron and steel plants, agricultural projects like the pioneering Obudu cattle ranch, and thriving tourism.
Nwodo praised the current efforts to revive the Southeast’s economy through knowledge, technology, and investment, emphasizing the critical role of education and access to finance for youth entrepreneurship.
He urged for continued support of these initiatives, asserting they could unlock the region’s abundant potential and create thousands of jobs, especially for unemployed university graduates.
He also criticized past governance focused on sharing wealth instead of fostering development and expressed optimism that linking innovations to financial institutions would finally empower small and medium-scale businesses.
Nwodo concluded by urging sustained commitment to good governance and investment, calling it a pivotal moment for the Southeast and Nigeria’s broader economic future.
This message underscores both a proud history and a hopeful vision for renewed growth driven by strategic investment and youth engagement in the Southeast
The former President of the Senate, Senator Ken Nnamani called emphasized the critical link between politics and economics for the development of the South East region.
He urged the Igbo people to take national politics seriously to protect their investments, noting that political fragmentation, with four different parties ruling the five states of the South East, hampers cooperation and progress.
Nnamani called for political consolidation to enhance collaboration and support for the region’s economic growth.
He also encouraged those investing outside Igbo land to bring a portion of their investments home, warning that neglect in politics could undermine years of business efforts.
He said: “I personally agree with the executive secretary of this organisation that yes, you can invest anywhere you like, but home is home. What is happening now (demolition in Lagos) is a lesson. You don’t wait until it happens to you before you begin to invest at home.
“The Igbos have what you call natural endowments. We are able to clear bushes and turn them to big markets. But we have so many bushes at home. we should think about building our home. It doesn’t stop us from being Red Cross of other cities we do it free.
“So the upcoming event in Enugu is so important and those of us who have the privilege of influencing decisions in our home lands should do our own parts while the business men do theirs.
Some of us came from a business background. So we will do within our powers to assist our own area of the country. So we should encourage our brothers who are making investments outside Igboland to take at least a fraction of that investment home.”
On his part, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim highlighted the abundance of talent and capacity in the South East but stressed the lack of enabling government support and an investment-friendly environment as major barriers to growth.
He underscored the importance of government-provided infrastructure, security, and utilities to attract sustainable investments, urging local governments to create conducive conditions for business.
Anyim cited the Catalonian example of regional economic empowerment to inspire East Nigerian unity and resilience amid Nigeria’s unpredictable political landscape.
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