The Nigerian Board of Advisors for the African Enterprise Initiative was inaugurated by the Hon Minister of Industries, Trade, and Investment Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, today, 6th July 2021. The African Enterprise Initiative Nigerian Board of Advisors includes Dr. Nicky Okoye who is the founder and Executive Chairman of the African Enterprise Initiative, others are Mr. SayyuDantata Chairman of MRS Group, Charles Momoh Chairman of Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Kola Adesina Chairman/ Chief Executive Sahara Power Group, Dakuku Peterside Former NIMASA Director-General, Prince Fifi Ejindu co-founder Star Crest, Dr. Ola Brown, Founder of Flying Doctors, Olukemi Arodudu Director Investment FMITI, CEO SMEDAN, Managing Director Bank of Industry, CEO Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, the Country Director for the African Development Bank and a host of others.
The Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of the African Enterprise Initiative was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industries, Trade, and Investment, and by Dr. Nicky Okoye founder and Executive Chairman of the African Enterprise Initiative and founder Nicky Okoye Foundation. The African Enterprise Initiative is designed to provide the capacity, the drive, funding, and platform required for Nigerian Enterprises operating at all levels, especially the micro, small and medium businesses, to penetrate global markets, expand their product and service offering base as well as attract investment capital from local and international sources. A major intervention of the African Enterprise Initiative is a strategic intervention designed for Nigerians at the grassroots and for the Nation’s community-based entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises. These micro community enterprises will have direct access to African Enterprise Initiative’s community enterprise clinics which will be sited in over 500 many communities across Nigeria. The African Enterprise Initiative will also create strategic platforms and interventions for the sustainable growth of Nigerian enterprises across the board working closely with the Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment, local and foreign development partners, State Governments, and other Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
In a statement credited to the Hon Minister at the signing of the MOU, he said……
We are proud to partner with the Nicky Okoye Foundation to implement the African Enterprise Initiative, which has major impact implications for Nigeria’s youth employment situation as well as for growth in the capacity of Nigerian businesses. We are grateful that Dr. Nicky Okoye and the Foundation, chose to start the implementation of the African Enterprise Initiative with Nigeria and we believe that Nigeria’s extensive population of entrepreneurs will benefit from this initiative.
Dr. Nicky Okoye had this to say,
“We designed the African Enterprise Initiative as a strategic response to the need for inclusion in the global market value chain for all Nigerian and African enterprises. In an effort to drive that inclusion we have identified the key resources and requirements our African businesses will need, including access to capital, skills, market penetration, and seamless platforms to do cross-board transactions. We have developed these interventions and streamlined them in an easy-to-understand format that is supported by technology, capital, and expertise. Our strategic partnership with the Federal Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment is a monumental pillar of the African Enterprise Initiative and we are extremely fortunate that the Federal Government has identified value in what we are doing.”
ABOUT THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF INDUSTRIES, TRADE, AND INVESTMENT and the NICKY OKOYE FOUNDATION
The Federal Ministry of Industries, Trade, and Investment is charged with expanding and promoting Nigeria’s Investment space. In addition, the Ministry drives Nigeria’s expansive Trade and Industrial policy landscape which all have major implications for job creation and economic development.
The NICKY OKOYE FOUNDATIONis founded by Dr Nicky Okoye, a serial entrepreneur, global business strategy and national development strategy expert. Dr Nicky Okoye is a Co-founder of Transcorp Plc, he served as Transcorp’s first Group Executive Director Operations (COO), and he midwifed Transcorp Plc’s rapid growth by acquisition phase. Dr Okoye has also served as the Nigeria Stock Exchange’s Chief Strategy Officer where he drove the implementation of key market reforms, supported the expansion of the Nigerian capital market globally and anchored the Central Securities Clearing System’s transition into an automated global clearing house for securities and data storage. Nicky Okoye is also the Group CEO for Anabel Group, a group engaged in telecommunications, business development strategy advisory and technology. The Nicky Okoye Foundation is well known for convening the Nigeria Leadership Summit founded in 2012, and holding eight annual summits till date. The Nicky Okoye Foundation also founded the EMPOWER NIGERIA initiative Chaired by His Excellency Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Common Wealth Secretary General. The Empower Nigeria Initiative was the premier private sector led social and economic impact initiative for supporting grass root entrepreneurship across Nigeria, growing into a whopping four hundred thousand members at its peak.