The Enugu State Government has revealed its plan to hold a Diaspora Investment Forum that would see the state reap $2 billion in investment interests in the first year.
Governor Mbah revealed this during a press conference, at the Government House, Enugu, on June 26, 2023.
The Enugu State Diaspora and Investment Forum would be launched in April 2024 and will be heralded by a couple events, including the Investment and Economic Growth Stakeholder Roundtable scheduled for September 2023 to inform key stakeholders about upcoming investors’ days, Diaspora Forum in December 2023, to bring together the diaspora investing community, and Closed Boardrooms in March 2024 to “close deals and mobilize institutional partners with investment interests in curated projects”.
Governor Mbah stressed that Enugu is open for business and welcomed all project sponsors, domestic and international financial institutions, and development partners, even as he urged the diaspora community to invest in Enugu State to deliver transformative development outcomes for their people.
“The Enugu State Diaspora and Investment Forum will be a multi-stakeholder, fully transactional platform championed by the Enugu State Government to accelerate the identification, preparation, curation, and financial closure of investment projects to achieve the State’s Private Sector-Led Economic Transformation Agenda.
“In its first year, the Enugu State Diaspora and Investment Forum aims to attract at least US$2 billion in investment interests” Mbah asserted.
The governor announced that, “In September 2023, the Investment and Economic Growth Stakeholder Roundtable will bring together bilateral and multilateral development partners, as well as senior-level executives from commercial banks, public and corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds, infrastructure funds, and other domestic financial institutions for a systematic discussion on advancing viable investment opportunities in the state as his administration steers Enugu State on a path of private sector-led economic growth.
Mbah said, the Enugu State Diaspora and Investment Forum will comprise six interdependent activity areas, which include: Enugu State Diaspora and Investment (ESDI) Platform, ESDI Market Place, ESDI Forum Investors’ Day, a Deal Tracker, Policy Environment Reforms, and a Diaspora Engagement Programme.
