The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has disclosed plans to launch the ‘Business Champions Program’ aimed to boost operations of large and medium-scale businesses.
Jumoke Oduwole, the Special Adviser to the President on the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Investment, made the disclosure in a statement issued to Businessday on Sunday, stating that the program was one of the five strategic pillars of the Council.
According to her, “having worked with MSMEs for over seven years, we realize that while systemic regulatory and judicial interventions are important, strategically, we must be more targeted to deliver faster results.
“The Business Champions intervention targets medium to large-sized industries and there are two parts to that programme. The first part is to work with medium-sized enterprises and have a pilot cohort of about 25 businesses.
“This intervention will be a bespoke service to help these medium businesses navigate the business climate from the government’s perspective.”
Oduwole explained that the selection of beneficiaries will be determined by factors such as revenue, tax contributions, job creation, sectors, and export proceeds.
She further noted that the decision to change models stems from the observation that larger businesses exhibit an ‘osmosis’ effect, leading to the clustering of stakeholders.
“It was determined that we will need to have this new approach to move faster and to grow the economy faster in these turbulent times.
“The five strategic pillars that PEBEC is working with includes the Business Facilitation Act of 2022, signed into law in February 2023. The Act is a codification of Executive Order No. 001 from 2017; Sub-national interventions, such as the World Bank’s State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Program-for-Results, currently entering its second year of implementation.
Oduwole noted that there is a $750 million loan available for states participating in the SABER program adding that with the legislative intervention, there will be a further review of the Omnibus bill.
She emphasized the collaborative efforts of over 40 law firms nationwide who volunteered their expertise pro bono to review approximately 21 business laws, culminating in the formation of the 2022 Omnibus bill.
