SOUTH WEST PHILANTHROPY SUMMIT ENGAGES STAKEHOLDERS, PARTICIPANTS TO TRANSFORM NIGERIA’S ECONOMY
The first South West Philanthropy Summit, held on Friday at Lagos Marriott Hotel, GRA Ikeja, has sought to gainfully engage relevant stakeholders, to transform Nigeria’s economy, especially in the area of job creation.
In an address by Mrs. Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke of the Nigeria office for Philanthropy and Impact Investing (NPO), it was revealed that that strategic Philanthropy will be a $1Trillion sector by 2030.
The Nigeria Office for NPO was inaugurated by His Excellency, The Vice President of Nigeria on 12th January 2024.
Since then, the Office has made a lot of strides, including signing 8 MOUs, securing grants for start ups and developing the first web-based platform for Diasporan living in Nigeria.
According to her, “Philanthropy has emerged as a powerful tool for driving social change and development globally. In Nigeria, the role of philanthropy in addressing social issues, including unemployment, is under-explored and under-utilised”.
“Philanthropic organizations and individuals have the resources and influence to initiate and support job creation projects that can make a significant impact”.
The Southwest Philanthropy Summit organised in collaboration with Odu’a Investments is the first of its kind in Nigeria.
“It is an opportunity to create an ecosystem for strategic philanthropy to address pressing social needs in the country. Strategic Philanthropy is not charity, it involves financial returns”, she said.
“Through this summit, we are hoping that State governments begin to take strategic philanthropy seriously and create formal structures to channel philanthropic investments to the right places”.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Group Chairman, Odu’a Investment Company Limited who doubled as the Summit Chairman, Otunba (Dr.) Bimbo Ashiru said the NPO’s mandate is to provide catalytic support for philanthropic efforts aimed at MSMEs in targeted sectors with high job creation potential.
According to the Summit Chairman, “given the role of MSMEs in any economy, this mandate presents a remarkable opportunity to effect economic change across the country. Odu’a Investment Company Limited is an investment holding company with footprints across multiple sectors including real estate, agriculture, hospitality, financial services amongst others”
“It established Odu’a Investment Foundation (OIF), a foundation focused on youth empowerment, healthcare and educationto give back to society in a direct and tangible way”.
“It was therefore very clear to us when we started engaging NPO that there are significant shared interests between both entities and that we share a common mission to deliver economic growth. In the year 2024, We therefore entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly promote philanthropic efforts in Nigeria, especially in the Southwest Region”.
“This Summit was born out of this partnership. The idea behind the Summit is to provide an opportunity to beam the searchlight on philanthropy and its expanding role in transforming lives. The South West Philanthropy Summit aims to provide a platform to discuss ideas with the potential to contribute exponentially to philanthropy especially in ways that can help address the problem of unemployment in the region”, he said .
“Some of the thematic areas we will focus on include partnerships especially between public and private sector actors, innovative job creation strategies, social and impact investing, and local and international collaborations”.
According to Otunba Ashiru, “the Southwest Region, is one that has the capacity to serve as a catalyst for the rest of the country in the area of economic growth and social models for job creation. If we can develop models that promote the development of MSME capacity and growth through philanthropy, social and impact investing, and other innovative solutions that deliver significant impact in the Southwest, we can easily replicate these across the rest of the country”, he said.
Investors from all walks of life were invited from the United States of America (USA) and Britain to see the investment potential of South Western States and Nigeria as a whole.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation, Mr. Tola Adekunle Johnson who brought the goodwill of the Presidency, assured the Summit that Nigeria’s Federal Government is willing to support the organization to succeed in its lofty dream.
Dignitaries across the country who participated in the Summit included but were not limited to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Sanwo-Olu ably represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barrister Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin and the Honourable Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in Osun State, Rev. ‘Bunmi Jenyo.
Also at the occasion was the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike-Dabiri and the Chairman, Airtel Foundation, Dr. Segun Ogunsanya.
Others are Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperative, Trade and Investments, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medeben, Ekiti State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperative, Trade and investments, Mrs Omotayo Adeola and the Ogun State Special Adviser on Commerce and investments, Ms. Arobieke.
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