AICC to boost SMEs’ growth in Nigeria, others

Nigeria is on high priority, as stakeholders move to boost small and medium enterprises under the platform of the Africa-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC).Africa-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) was inaugurated in Abuja to boost economic relationship between the continent and Israel.

Speaking at the Africa Leadership Summit (ALS), the Convener of ALS, Olusegun Olanipekun, noted that the Summit provided an opportunity to conclude action on the Chamber and chart the course for greater Africa-Israeli cooperation.

He highlighted how AICC would tap into Israeli’s proficiency in SMEs development.“The African Leadership Summit (ALS) is about raising the standard of leadership on the continent of Africa and benchmarking ourselves with the best in the world, particularly Israel. You know that Israel is the number one start-up nation in the world; it is not only Nigeria or Africa that is learning from them. The whole world is learning from them.

“Israel supplies the highest percentage of patents to the world. Europe buys patents from Israel, America does and we are saying, why are we always buying from America and Europe when we can go directly to the source, Israel?”

He described the Chamber as a project of the ALS.His words: “Israel also imports from other parts of the world but not from Africa because the systems are not in place for that. The ALS is developing application tools like the Africa-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) where people of like mind can meet and connect and a highway of business can be built between the various cities of Africa and Israel. We are looking at a mutually beneficial highway of business.”

On the focus on SMEs, he noted: “Africans have had to wait for investors to come and invest and we observe that the results of that is that profits are repatriated maximally and communities are not developed. But if we partner with a nation like Israel where in 60 years, they have developed their economy and made the desert to blossom like a rose, and developed their communities through their businesses, and then we can also learn that it is not enough to have big businesses with big financials but their communities of operations are not developed.”

One of the partners in the project, Dr. Ike Neliaku said AICC would be driven by Nigeria.He said Nigeria has capacity to take Africa along the path holistic prosperity if she gets it right.

Neliaku noted that modalities on how the AICC will operate from Nigeria had been designed, stressing that the necessary linkages had been established with stakeholders for prompt delivery of set goals.