Osun State Investment Promotion Agency (OSIPA) on Monday held its stakeholder meeting, with a resolution to provide a friendly environment for the growth of foreign investors and generate investments, businesses for the state, both locally and internationally .
At the meeting, they equally discussed on the need to resuscitate the Osun State free trade zone as a platform for dragging in investors and discussed what looks like the Osun State Investment profile so that when investors come in, they will be able to identify investable sectors.
According to them,”The state will also need to develop some kind of incentives that will serve as a drawer for these investors that will make Osun State an investment destination.”
Speaking at the occasion, Hon. Olalekan Olatunji, Special Adviser, Osun State Investment Promotion agency who chaired the event held at the conference room of the agency at Abere, assured that, in due time, investors will be able to come to the state and it will be easier for them to meet with all agencies.
While identifying some of the challenges, the local businesses are encountering and how they can be mitigated, he noted that, “One of the challenges discussed today is the ease of doing business with the one stop shop which can refer to a single physical location where the business can be carried out.
“We will be bringing that back now that the agency has met with some of the stakeholders.
“As far as the C of O issue is concerned, some of the things raised is that, it is only being given to politicians and office holders. Remember we just got into power and that is not the case with us.”
However, we are having some challenges with past administrations in the state with some of the things they have done and that is why, we are here at the moment to consider citizens welfares an to get their C of O in town because, that’s one of the things that sometimes investors and local business people need to access loan.
In his own submission, Mr. Ademola Samuel, State manager of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (Smedan, remarked that, “As we have discussed in the meeting, Smedan is the one coordinating the MSME community, creating a synergy among all other players and stakeholders.
“So, we on our part we are collaborating with the CAC and other agencies to organize trainings probably in the next two weeks, you’ll see a training to be conducted.
“We will train MSME community on how to do their registration themselves,filing their annual returns and other necessary things required of them without consulting any consultant.
“Regarding other programmes, we suggested that we can be doing quarterly MSMEs clinics that can be done on senatorial or federal constituency basis where we get a hall by the state government and we go there to sensitize SME community on other challenges they are facing and also provide on spot solutions to their problems.”
Also, Mr. Ayodele Sunday, the Sate coordinator of Nigeria export promotion Council, Osun State coordinating office noted that, “Osun economy through investment is to look at it from both sides the local investors and foreign investors.
“We need to support the SMEs to grow, we also need to provide a friendly environment for the foreign investors.
“There is need to set up an one stop investment shop at the OSIPA office so that when investors come in, it will be easy to get information on all they require in setting up business in Osun.
“Again ,the OSIPA might need to develop what looks like the Osun State Investment profile so that when investors come in, they will be able to identify investable sectors.
“Again, the state will also need to develop some kind of incentives that will serve as a drawer for these investors that will make Osun State an investment destination.
“We also talked about the need to resuscitate the Osun State free trade zone as a platform for dragging in investors.
“It will not be our of place if the government choose to identify the product in which each local government has strength and develop what looks like a common facility center for them so that the cost of production is reduced for MSMEs that have little or no financial muscle to build up machines that are required.”
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