The Lagos State Government has again restated its commitment to making the state attractive to investors.
The state equally assures players in the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSME/SMEs) sector of government’s readiness to continually create opportunities for businesses to grow.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, state governor, gave the assurance on Sunday in celebration of the ‘Lagos State Day’ at the just concluded 34th edition of the 2020 Lagos International Trade Fair.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the state government would continue to support players in the MSMEs subsector to maximise opportunities in the state. “I assure you that the Lagos State Government will continue to be your partner in progress towards ensuring a conducive business environment for investments and investors to thrive in the state.”
Represented by Obafemi Hamzat, state deputy governor, Sanwo-Olu said his administration would continue to engage the LCCI and the organised private sector (OPS) on measures to keep businesses up and running, considering the economic challenges of the COVID-19 on small businesses.
Lola Akande, the commissioner for commerce, industry and cooperatives, said the conduct of the 2020 Lagos International Trade Fair had been a restatement of government’s mandate to drive economic growth in the MSME sector of the nation’s economy.
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According to Akande, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), organiser of the fair, has been an unrelenting partner in the business of ensuring good policy direction for economic prosperity of not only Lagos State but Nigeria at large, especially through its policy advocacy which has been yielding positive results.
She further said that the theme of this year’s trade fair, ‘Connecting Businesses, Creating Value’ had proven appropriate due to the increasing and urgent need for Nigeria to diversify its economy, in light of the COVID-19 health crisis and looming economic recession.
“As a responsive and responsible government, we are conscious of the gargantuan challenges faced by businesses in nation during this period of COVID-19 and incidences of unrest within the state, which have required faith and tenacity on the part of business players for survival.
“It is important for us to continue to provide active support to entrepreneurs and business owners to mitigate such challenges through consistent marketing support activities such as the conduct at this year’s trade fair which is rounding up today, as well as other Lagos State Government sponsored trade fairs recently held within the state,” said Akande.
The Lagos commissioner for commerce, industry and cooperatives opined that the state had continued to stimulate businesses and encourage wealth creation through the administration of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) loan program, the WARA e-commerce platform, myriad free business clinics for MSMEs within the state, among others.
Toki Mabogunje, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said that participants had rewarding business interactions during the 10-day fair, commending the resilience and optimism of entrepreneurs in the state.
She expressed hope that the governments at all levels would continue to address the issues of business environment in the country, especially as regards infrastructures.
“We need to do this in order to fully harness the huge enterprising resource of domestic and foreign investors for the diversification of our economy and the welfare of our people,” she said.
Mabogunje said despite the numerous challenges of the transportation, logistics and Covid-19 pandemic, the fair had been hitch-free and successful.
