By Kunle SHONUGA
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), has said the commission has taken some proactive steps to attract more investors into the country in spite of some challenges.
Director, Strategic Communication in the Commission, Mr. Emeka Offor, said this in Abuja. Offor said the commission introduced a one-Stop Investment Centre to streamline investment procedures, provide prompt, efficient and transparent services and coordinate investment-facilitating agencies.
According to him, the centre provides data on the Nigerian economy, investment climate, legal and regulatory framework as well as sector and industry specific information.
“So far, the commission has carried out lot of programmes, and for the first time developed what is called Compendium of investment Incentives in Nigeria.
“The compendium is a compilation of fiscal incentives in Nigeria tax laws and sector-wide fiscal concessions duly approved by the Federal Government and supported by legal instruments.
“The compendium will be updated periodically as more incentives are duly gazetted to encourage investments in Nigeria and it will enable investors get incentive information in one document,” he said.
Offor said another scheme aimed at attracting more investors was tracking of investment announcements in the country.
“In 2017 the NIPC began tracking the various investment announcements in different sectors of the economy, showing the investment information and interests in the country in the different quarters of the year.
“These are only investment announcements. Not actual investments. It is possible an announcement is made, MoU signed, but the investment that actually comes in is less than the amount that was originally announced or does not even happen at all,” he said.
Offor said to make information accessible, the commission launched an up-to-date online portal, iGuide Nigeria, containing necessary information and relevant data that would greatly improve the `Ease of Doing Business’ in the country.
According to him, the portal will help investors get access to the basic information needed to make informed decisions on Nigeria as a preferred investment destination.
“iGuide is an online platform providing investors with up-to-date and pertinent information on the processes, procedures and basic costs of doing business in Nigeria.
“It provides information on starting business, labour, production factors, land, taxes, investor rights, growth sectors and opportunities,” he said.
Offor added that the portal’s language functionality would enable investors read the information in major languages of the world.
Offor, however, said lack of funding had been a major challenge faced by the commission because it needed more funding to make its One-Stop Investment Centre functional.
Offor said another challenge faced by the commission was capacity building for its staff to enable to the needs of world class investors.
“I believe that with government continued support, the commission will make the country the best destination for investors,” said Offor.
