Special Edition: Anambra Investment Summit 2023

Welcome to the Land of Infinite Opportunities

Sep 17, 2023

In a faraway land, bordered by seven States, holding 1st place in Southern Nigeria in the rankings for Ease of Doing Business, is a place now called “the Land of Infinite Opportunities.”

Home to the most entrepreneurs per sqm, Anambra State is well on its way to becoming the livable and prosperous smart city as envisioned by the Soludo-led administration.

What Happened Last Thursday?

Before we answer this, let us backtrack a little.

Earlier this year, Anambra Insights hinted at the maiden edition of the Anambra Investment Summit. With the approval of Mr. Governor, the Agency began preparations for this event with a familiarization tour to Lagos and Abuja. The positive response from the tour made us see that the world was ready for Anambra, and this, in turn, increased our excitement.

Fast forward to August; the date was firmed up, letters were sent out, and Mr. Governor had upgraded the event to a State-level gathering with marching orders that culminated in the overall success witnessed on Thursday, September 7, 2023. With the support of other MDAs, the State signed 13 MoUs covering ten (10) projects, distinctively making ANINVEST more than a talk-shop.

As part of our accountability process, we fully intend to provide an update on the MoUs signed at next year’s Aninvest. So, we invite you to plan for it as it will be even more exciting than this.

We were thrilled to witness the dynamic discussions, insightful presentations, and meaningful connections that took place during the Summit. We saw an active engagement and valuable contributions on the panels that discussed the Anambra State industrialization agenda and how to finance the key infrastructure projects. More than anything, these discussions informed the State on how to improve its approach to achieving sustainable development.

Another important aspect of the event was the exhibition area. This section showcased over 25 government projects and the opportunities for private sector involvement. With a blend of about 10 private brands, Anambra was able to show at a glance that the Summit had active public and private sector participation.

Although the event reached an early conclusion, we are organizing a monthly webinar for October, November, and December for the three panels affected by time constraints.

The first webinar will be on Gas, Power, and Sustainable Energy and will discuss how the State hopes to achieve a Sustainable Energy Future. Focal points to be discussed include Building Anambra’s Electricity Market and Balancing Energy Needs (Infrastructure development for Power Generation and Distribution, Gas-Powered IPPs, Autogas, and the Rise of Alternative Energy Sources).

Kindly register to attend the webinar

Who is OMAA, and what will happen on March 8, 2024?

On Friday, September 8, 2023, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo CFR was at Umunya for the groundbreaking ceremony of Kojo Motors Auto Assembly and Natural Gas Facility. Kojo Motors is a partner company to OMAA.

This facility will expand the operations of the assembly plant in Igbo-Ukwu and also process Compressed Natural Gas as the first daughter-booster station in South East Nigeria. The promise is that in six months from the day of the groundbreaking, the first vehicle produced in the new facility will be ready for use.

But how did we get here?

On a random Thursday, the Managing Director, while emphasizing the need for Anambra Industries to be spotlighted at the Summit, mentioned a vehicle assembly plant in Igbo-Ukwu, producing commercial vehicles that could use dual-fuel (PMS and CNG). He was interested in paying a visit to the facility and understanding its production capacity.

Taking the initiative, the Technical Assistant to the MD, ANSIPPA immediately utilized his network and got the contact information for the MD/CEO of the plant. A LinkedIn connection request was made and thus began a very eventful tie that will culminate in the signing of an MoU between the State and OMAA at the Summit.

OMAA, one of the official logistics partners for the Anambra Investment Summit is focused on providing sustainable energy and mobility solutions to address today’s environmental challenges. Pioneers in natural gas-powered vehicles, the company launched the first dual-fuel bus assembled in Nigeria. The vehicles and hybrid energy systems are adapted to the Sub-Saharan region, rugged, and safe to withstand the local conditions and operating environment.

The MD/CEO of OMAA, Chinedu Oguegbu will be one of the speakers at the upcoming webinar on Gas, Power, and Sustainable Energy.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, the Agency took the World Bank delegation to Tully Farms to enjoy the local cuisine.

From the barbeque catfish to the rich-brewed beer, down to the refreshing water, the Made-in-Anambra menu was reflective of Anambra’s place as the commercial powerhouse of Nigeria.

With that, the maiden edition of the Anambra Investment Summit came to an end.

A.O.B

First, the Agency extends its heartfelt appreciation to everybody who graced the Anambra Investment Summit. The positive feedback can be attributed to the quality of the crowd, the participation, and the connections that marked the event.

We are privileged that such honorable members of the public took the time to come to Anambra and participate in this maiden edition of the Anambra Investment Summit. We are deeply grateful to our sponsors, exhibitors, and partners in progress who believed in the collective prosperity of the State and invested in the event. We do not take all these for granted.

Before we end this special edition, a kind reminder for our Twitter space coming up on Friday, September 22, 2023.