Shettima To Launch The Nigeria Diaspora Investment Trust Fund (NDITF) At The 6th Diaspora Investment Summit
Maryam Aminu
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), says the Commission is set to host the 6th Edition of Diaspora Investment Summit.
Dabiri-Erewa spoke on Friday at Abuja during a press conference ahead of the summit.
The summit is expected to hold from November 13th to 15th at Umar Musa Yar’adua Centre Abuja.
The NiDCOM Chairman explained that in this year’s summit which would be declared open by the Vice President Kashim Shettima demonstrates, targeting the Diaspora is a highly effective strategy for attracting investment into the emerging diversified Nigerian economy.
The Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS) is an annual event that fosters economic collaboration and inward investment in Nigeria by bringing together foreign investors, home-based entrepreneurs and relevant government officials.
“The 6th Nigerian Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS 6 2023) seeks to create further opportunities for attracting and broadening Diaspora investments, given the current state of the Nigerian economy”, Erewa said
She noted that the Vice President, Kashim Shettima will launch the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Trust Fund (NDITF) to provide financing for diaspora investments.Adding that the government has also taken many steps to encourage diaspora investment including: Amending the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) to allow Nigerians in the diaspora to vote in company meetings.
The NIDCOM chairperson announced the theme of the summit as ‘The New Vistas, New Aspirations- The Diaspora and National Development. Vice President Kashim Shettima will be the special guest of honour and keynote speaker at the first NDIS under the new administration of President Bola Tinubu.
She disclosed that Renowned global agribusiness conglomerate Heifer International is the Lead sponsor. Heifer Nigeria’s signature initiative, Naija Unlock, aims to help unlock Nigeria’s food self-sufficiency potential by working with smallholder farmers to fill the gap in local food demand while closing the income gap for families.
The focus sectors for NDIS 6 2023 include agribusiness, technology, education, healthcare, real estate and infrastructure. Others are creative and entertainment, energy, mining and manufacturing.
On the success recorded, she said
“These success stories further buttress the fact that NDIS is not just one of the surest platforms for attracting Diaspora Investment into the local economy but also serves as a vital catalyst spurring new business start-ups across the country”
Speaking also, the Interim Country Director of Heifer International, Dr Lekan Tobe appreciated NiDCOM for the initiative.
Speaking on why Heifer is sponsoring the summit, Tobe revealed that
“NDIS has established itself as the premier platform for connecting Nigerians in the diaspora with opportunities for investment and engagement in the country’s burgeoning industries. NDIS 2023 aims to strengthen the bonds between Nigeria and it’s diaspora communities while revealing a dynamic view of investment opportunities and prospects in various sectors, particularly Agriculture, Which is our focus sector. We feel that our goal of assisting more than two million households to achieve sustainable living income by 2030 through strategic private and public sector partnerships that will support the unlockibg of the potential in Nigeria’s agricultural sector to achieve food self-sufficiency is fully aligned with that of the summit
