Kano State government has revealed that it will soon unveil what it called a 5-year multi-sectoral investment strategic plan to woo local and foreign investors into the state.
The idea is to bring investors to invest heavily in key economic sectors, aimed at boosting the state’s economy and providing revenue for the government to be able to execute developmental projects.
The Director-General of Kano State Investment Promotion Agency (Kan-Invest), Muhammad Naziru Halliru disclosed this while addressing journalists in Kano on Wednesday.
The plan, according to Halliru, is to invite investors to invest in the areas of energy, agriculture, health, education, transportation and other areas of the economy.
According to the Director-General, the agency, through the approval of the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, would hold an elaborate ceremony to unveil the plans, which he said, would create a business-enabling environment for investments to thrive in the state, which is the commercial nerve centre of Northern Nigeria.
He also disclosed that the agency, under the leadership of the governor, would unveil an enlightenment campaign for local investors to invest in the state.
“This is very important because, in Kano state alone, we can have an individual that would invest in power that the whole state could depend on.
“We have wealthy people in Kano that could invest heavily in many areas of the economy. Sometimes we may only need foreign investors for advanced technology.
“The reason why we do not see them is that the previous government did not provide an enabling environment for the investments. They did not see the legal framework to protect their investments. They did not see the government giving them necessary attention and providing an enabling business environment for them to invest, that is why they are reluctant to invest, ” he noted.
Halliru restated the commitment of the agency to create awareness for local investors to see areas to invest, “beyond building plaza and corner shops”.
He said the state government, through the agency, is working assiduously to provide an enabling business environment that is in accordance with global standards, adding that the plans would be launched in a few months.
The DG also disclosed that the governor’s investment agenda is yielding fruits as according to him, several investment proposals from companies to invest in Kano are underway.
According to him, the majority of them had submitted proposals to invest in solar energy, disclosing that some had even proposed to being over $500 million investment.
He added that discussions are also ongoing with some foreign investors from the United Kingdom, China, United States, India, etc. to come to Kano.
“Some of them told us that they attempted to invest in Kano during the immediate past government but did not see the way to bring their investments.
“But, this present administration has provided what I said earlier, enabling environment for investments. Not only those that have indicated interest to invest, our commitment and plans are to woo foreign and local investments into our state.
“I am happy our governor is giving us maximum cooperation and support. Very soon people of Kano would see a boom in our economy, courtesy of investments that would be coming into the state from domestic and foreign investors,” he assured.
