The South-East Development Commission (SEDC) has urged entrepreneurs in the region to adopt a collective approach to business, pooling their resources into large-scale investments to drive industrialisation and create sustainable economic opportunities. This call was made by Hon. Toby Okechukwu, Executive Director, Projects, SEDC, at the 10th anniversary of De Pinnacle International Social Club in Abuja. Okechukwu emphasised the need for collective investment, stronger public-private partnerships, and sound corporate governance to transform the economic fortunes of the South-East.
According to Okechukwu, the South-East region possesses sufficient human and financial resources to become a major economic hub if its people can organise their capital for productive investments. He noted that while the people of the South-East have demonstrated strong social cohesion in cultural and family activities, this unity has not translated sufficiently into collective economic ventures. Okechukwu cited the example of social events such as Iri Ji, marriages, and title takings, where the community comes together, but emphasised that this cohesion is not reflected in business.
Okechukwu stressed that entrepreneurs in the region must begin to see partnership and collective investment as tools for building stronger businesses and institutions. He questioned the region's ability to achieve meaningful development through individual prosperity alone, emphasising that collective economic action is required to build industries, create jobs, and expand opportunities for the people. The SEDC official urged South-East entrepreneurs to establish businesses with proper corporate structures, succession plans, independent boards, and transparent financial systems.
Okechukwu warned against businesses that depend entirely on their founders, stating that a great business must outlive its founder. He cited the Dangote Refinery as an example of how a business can develop into an institution capable of mobilising substantial capital beyond its founder. Okechukwu also recalled the historical contribution of the late Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu to Nigeria's capital market, noting that relatively few businesses from the South-East have fully leveraged the capital market to institutionalise ownership and expand their operations.
The SEDC official disclosed that the Commission is developing mechanisms to aggregate private capital for investment in strategic sectors, including industrial parks, power, and agriculture. One of the platforms being developed is the South-East Investment Company (SEIC), aimed at aggregating capital and de-risking large-scale projects. Additionally, the Commission's initiatives include the Agro-Development pilot at Nomeh in Nkanu East, Enugu State, and SEGRID, its grassroots sports infrastructure initiative.
Okechukwu announced a $50 million Venture Capital Programme aimed at providing equity investment to promising businesses and ideas, rather than relying on grants and handouts. He challenged members of De Pinnacle International Social Club to use their collective strength to establish a microfinance bank to support traders and farmers, and subsequently explore investments in specialised markets, industrial parks, and logistics through SEIC. Okechukwu also suggested that the region could draw lessons from Catalonia in Spain, where strong identity and human capital have been leveraged to build economic strength.
Okechukwu linked the development of the South-East economy to the welfare of indigenes and residents of the region living outside Nigeria, stating that a strong domestic economy would create opportunities for people to return home and invest. He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for establishing the SEDC, describing the Commission as an institutional platform for addressing the development needs of the region. Okechukwu urged De Pinnacle International Social Club to leverage its decade of social organisation to build enduring economic institutions, saying the South-East's future prosperity would depend on its ability to convert social solidarity into collective economic action.
Key points
- SEDC calls for collective investment to drive industrialisation in South-East Nigeria.
- Entrepreneurs urged to adopt sound corporate governance and public-private partnerships.
- $50 million Venture Capital Programme launched to support promising businesses and ideas.
