‘How KDSG Attracted Over $4.3 billion In Six Years’

Kaduna State Government has attracted investments worth over $4.3 billion in the last six years and has continued with its investment drive even in the face of the slow down in economic activities, owing to the impact of Covid-19.

The Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) has attracted companies like Africa Natural Resources and Mines, Tomato Jos, an agro-processing company focused on the local production of high-quality tomato paste for the Nigerian market.

Other investments that the state government has attracted between 2016 and 2022 include, Olam Feed and Hatchery Mill, Mahindra Tractors Assembly Plant, OCP Fertilizer and Dangote Peugeot Automobiles.

The Executive Secretary of KADIPA, Malam Khalil Nur Khalil, who made this known at a press briefing last Wednesday, added that the 7^th edition of Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KadInvest 7.0) will hold from 13^th to 15^th October.

Malam Khalil recalled that KADIPA has been organizing KadInvest since 2016, adding that the theme of the inaugural summit was ‘’Kaduna is Open for Business.’’

The Executive Secretary added that ‘’the summit has continued to hold unfailingly since then, with the theme changing to reflect the progress recorded.’’

He recalled that in 2017 the theme was ‘’Making Kaduna the Investment Destination of Choice,’’ in 2018 the theme was ‘‘Partnership for Development’’ and in 2019, it was ‘‘Expanding Investment Frontiers,’’

‘’In 2020, the theme was ‘Infrastructure, Industrialization and Innovation,’ in 2021 ‘Towards a Sustainable Knowledge-based Economy’ and now in 2022 ‘Building a Resilient Economy’,’’ he said.

According to the Executive Secretary, the various editions of KadInvest have cumulatively attracted investments worth over $4.3 billion from 2016 till date.

‘’From the year 2021, even with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the world, with economic activities slowing down considerably, Kaduna state managed to attract over $900 million worth of actualized investments,’’ he disclosed.

Khalil pointed out that the investments are both Design, Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) and Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), ‘’the most notable name being Zipline, a company delivering drugs to hard-to-reach places using drones.’’

The Executive Secretary disclosed that the KadInvest 7.0 ‘’will run for three days and will be highly interactive, consisting of a pre-summit event and main summit with presentations that will highlight Kaduna state’s progress in line with the theme.’’

‘’The pre-summit will be the Kaduna Business Expo, which will hold on October 13^th at the Kaduna Centenary Park, promises to be an immersive experience.

‘’The expo will cover the technology, agriculture, infrastructure and the solid minerals sector. Part of the objectives of the expo is to get young people invested in agriculture, market the opportunities in the Kaduna solid mineral sector, and to understand policy initiatives to promote technology as part of the Kaduna State Development Plan (2021 – 2025),’’ he added.

Khalil further said that ‘’after the Business Expo, on the 14^th of October, His Excellency will commission a number of projects across the state, to set the mood for the summit. Amongst the notable speakers expected include His Highness Muhammad Sanusi II amongst others.‘’

According him, the main summit which is scheduled for the last day of the three-day event on the 15^th October, will be a hybrid event with both virtual and physical attendance.

The Executive Secretary promised that the ‘’summit will be hosted live in the metaverse, a feat that has never been achieved in any major government event in the country.’’