FG woos Nigerians in Diaspora

The Federal Government is partnering with over 200 Nigerian businesses in Diaspora to provide technical support for small scale enterprises across the country.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the Coordinator, Nigeria Diaspora Alumni Network, Badewa Adejugbe-Williams, said the Diaspora investment summit was in line with the diversification agenda of the federal government.

The Diaspora Investment Summit scheduled to hold on the 28th of November 2018, is expected to galvanize a large number of Nigerians in Diaspora to interact with indigenous business owners.

NIDAN, in partnership with the Office of the Assistant to the President on Diaspora Matters, said it was on the lookout for indigenous Nigerians with innovative and creative skills, and would create an avenue for networking between business owners in Nigeria.

Mrs Adejugbe-Williams said the choice of an investment summit was to reach out to Nigerians in Diaspora, who have excelled in various endeavours to invest in the country.

“The opportunities here are massive and we need our own people to benefit from it, not have others invest in Nigeria and take it back, we want the money to remain in Nigeria.

“We want to create a formal way through which remittances from the Diaspora can be monitored and channelled to greater economic benefits, through the creation of jobs and mentoring.

“We want to encourage Nigerians who have viable businesses to submit their projects for this summit,” she informed.

She added that Nigerians in Diaspora have showed reasonable interest and commitment to the summit, adding that they were expected to participate in the summit alongside consortia from their respective countries of residence.

The summit would focus on agriculture, healthcare, entertainment, infrastructure, technology and waste management sectors among other key areas.