By Nosakhare Agbonigiarhuoyi
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, is in the Federal Republic of Germany in company of some aides to consolidate investment discussions following commitments from some German companies to invest in the State.
The trip is facilitated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a German corporation in Nigeria, which has been working with the Edo State Government for over three (3) years to increase employment and income generation, access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and assist in adapting vocational training programs to market needs, amongst others.
According to the organizers, the tour is aimed at engaging with German government officials and business owners, who seek to leverage opportunities in the Edo State, and see how they can partner with the government and local investors.
The Governor met with the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DHK) to discuss areas of partnership for investment and employment promotion in Edo State. He’s also using the opportunity to deepen partnership with Germany to create avenues for knowledge transfer that will support the growth plan in the State.
A source familiar with the visit said Edo State is highly ranked by the German government with respect to the availability of support frameworks for businesses such as policies that protect MSMEs as well as the State government’s favorable disposition to working with development partners such as the GIZ.
On Saturday, June 4, 2022, Obaseki will also hold talks with Edo people in Germany on the emerging opportunities for investment in the State, particularly the fledging real estate sector, which has been sanitized to attract big ticket investment. The real estate sector attracts billions of naira worth of investments from Edo people in the Diaspora.
Checks showed that “Germany is the world’s third-largest exporter and the third largest importer of goods, and has the largest economy in Europe, which is also the world’s fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the fifth-largest by PPP.”
“Its GDP per capita measured in purchasing power standards amounts to 121% of the EU27 average (100%).[174] The service sector contributes approximately 69% of the total GDP, industry 31%, and agriculture 1% as of 2017. The unemployment rate published by Eurostat amounts to 3.2% as of January 2020, which is the fourth-lowest in the EU,” according to Wikipedia.
