Passionate about entrepreneurship and building top-notch brands based on diverse African values that change the perception of the continent, McEva Temofe is a member of the international organising committee for the International Forum on Security, Economy and Investment in Africa (IFSEIA).

Billed to open on September 16 and runs through September 20, 2024,at the United Nations Headquarters and Millennium Hilton, New York, United States of America, the forum will bring together global investors, as well as business leaders from Africa.

In this interview with BROWN AJULUCHUKWU, Temofe said the forum would advance new partnerships, deliver progress for Africa and advance sustainable peace.

What’s the idea behind the International Forum on Security, Economy and Investment in Africa (iFSEIA) initiative?

THROUGH iFSEIA, we are building towards global convergence of African leaders and global leaders in advancing new partnerships and delivering progress in Africa. This forum would be taking place in New York from September 16 to September 20 and we are looking forward to driving investment from New York across different parts of Africa in agriculture, infrastructure, education, technology, health, security and other untapped areas like mining.

This platform is being set up by amazing young Africans who are doing well in their individual fields. Under this umbrella, we have distinguished Nigerians such as the formerChief of Naval Staff,Vice Admiral AuwalZubairuGambo, who is actually the chairman of the International Organising Committee. This forum is being actually formed, and it’s not being formed only just for now.

This is the maiden edition, and after the event, we’re looking at cutting across from different countries across the world to actually drive back investment home in different African countries. The major purpose for this event and also for this forum is in the investment opportunities, which I forgot to mention earlier on, in security as well. By next year, we’re looking at doing the second edition, which will be International Forum on Security, Investment, and Economy in Africa; it will be a standalone event. I don’t want to use the word institution or an organisation.

What really informed the decision to conceive this initiative?

The idea behind this was actually formed about four years to five years ago, where young people like myself, who have actually traveled across the broader and seen how much investment opportunities, are out there. However, when you look at Africa as a continent, you find that we are far behind in terms of investment and development.

So, we believe in bringing together business people and also government institutions and people to come to meet with prospective investors, to drive them back home and also to make sure that the funds that are being generated are being used for the right value. Most importantly, getting these investors to meet directly with those who are interested to use these funds to drive valuable investment back home.

When we saw these opportunities, we decided to put this amazing forum together, working with partners. The major thing that drove this is actually the interest of Africa; the interest of Nigeria, and the interest of development back home. That’s one of the major driving forces for this to actually happen. The main purpose is advancing new partnerships really, building up partnerships with Europeans, Americans, and also making these investors meet with direct investment values back home.

If you look at it, this whole idea is around Africa. How much support are you getting from African governments?

As of today, we have over six different African countries that have tapped into this project. For example, the government of Sao Tome, the government of Malawi, the government of Zimbabwe, the Nigerian government as well, which we have different individuals from state governments, local councils and also to business individuals, who are coming in with high expectations to meet with those that we have put together.

We have investors from the Silicon Valley and also investors in the mining sector in New York, European countries and also in the Asian countries as well. They are all coming together, because there is something that happened.

A lot of them actually, when they are looking for a place to invest, they usually meet the wrong people; they meet the wrong business people. In the end, a business that is meant to take like four years or six months to establish, it takes like ten years; a lot of resources wasted. So, that’s where we’ve been able to gather all these people to bring them together and provide the platform for business negotiations.

Now, this is not only an investment forum; it’s also policy and programme introduction into the system, which will help guide investors on the right channel where they will be investing in. We have a panel discussion session that will be happening at the UN Headquarters and also at the Millennium Hilton Hotel, which is where the Deal Room is going to be happening.

There will be constant discussion between the investors and those who are coming in to see how they can exchange and synergize a strong partnership to the benefit of the investors and the African people in general.

Take us through what this forum will look like, what are we expecting on that day or during the event?

During the event, we’re expecting high caliber of people, high successful business people and policymakers in government and those who also introduce and help execute programmes that reaches the grassroots and also NGOs. There will be panel discussion, as well as paper presentations by successful businessmen and those who are also aspiring.

During this event as well, we’re looking at awarding local content. Yes, these are those that have actually added values back home, but nobody has recognised them. We are recognising these people and awarding them for the work and for the values they’ve brought back home as well.

There’ll be a session where we are recognising those who have actually added so much value economically back home, and the paper presentation is actually to enlighten and to guide investors where to invest, how to invest and what their funds will be directed into. These partnership deals will be signed in an open-air and in a closed-door meeting.

What informed your decision to focus on security and how can a country like Nigeriabenefit from this kind of forum?

Now, we added security to this because, if you look at the sub-Saharan region, Africa as a whole, there has been restlessness when it comes to security. There’s so much you might want to agree or disagree with me, but there’s so much insecurityhappening in Nigeria. Someone has been kidnapped and it takes like one month, six days or more for this person to be traced.

Now, we have those who are interested with their gadgets, who are coming in to sell the ideas and introduce new system, new technologies in fighting insecurity. That’s why we have the former Chief of Naval Staff as well heading this sector and also we’ll be talking to the investors on what they will be expecting to be introduced to them.

The unrest in the Northern Nigeria right now, the Boko Haram issue, this insurgency needs to be stopped and needs to also be tracked. And those that need to actually fight this insurgency; we will be introducing the government to prospective investors in this area. Also, fund is needed to actually fight insurgency. And for funds to be provided, our government needs to meet with the right people to actually invest in this sector to help us stop insecurity in Nigeria, which is actually spreading across the country.

I made mention earlier on, the kidnapping of a thing is a serious issue. Some people were kidnapped like two months ago and demands were made for over N100 million. Because they were unable to provide this money, these people were killed. If security information is being spread through technology, these people will be able to track those kidnappers easily. There will be tracking devices that will be on display for people to see how they can use it to help us reduce kidnapping in Nigeria and other security challenges that we’re having in Africa.

What do you think is the major issue when it comes to investing in Africa, and how do you intend to correct it using this forum?

One major issue, just a few months back, I was on my way to Madrid, Spain and I met a miner who is a billionaire; we’re just sitting together and he’s been trying to get into the mining sector in Nigeria. He wanted to meet with a sitting governor in the northern part of Nigeria, but his case was frustrated. He spent so much money, but he was unable to meet with the governor or the right people for him to be able to mine.

And this mining that he was doing is to actually not take away our resources back to China or to South Korea, because he is a Korean. His goal was to mine here, use the lithium to produce batteries that will last for 50 to 100 years. But his goal was frustrated. He spent over two years in Nigeria, yet he was unable to meet the right people.He spent so much money in hotel bills, tipping people back and forth. So, this has been happening. A lot of people have been coming to Nigeria to actually invest, but they meet the wrong people and get frustrated.

So, one of the major reasons for us hosting this forum is to create the right platform to have direct investment with the right people. When investors see that they are dealing with the right people, first-hand people who are in power, who are in the business, who own their businesses, they know it is the right channel for them to actually deal with. This is actually coming to not frustrate those who have the intention to come to Nigeria to invest.

And that aside, a lot of them come into Nigeria with the intention of investing. Let me give you an example. In agriculture, without knowing the policies that the government has already set down, it will be difficult to invest here. Some of them, upon their arrival and bringing in some of the funds they have, they get frustrated, because the policies on ground can’t really help them; they never studied it. So, this is what we have made available. The templates are ready for them to hear from the horse’s mouth and understand where and how and when that they will come into the country to invest.

And do you know what we are doing by doing this, by organising this and putting this together? It is giving the country a good name and a good reputation and also aligning with the policies of our president. It is to make sure that we have direct investment and also economic growth into the country.

If we have these investors coming into the country and running their businesses successfully, imagine the number of employment that they will create and the taxes that the government will raise to help better the economy and the system for the development of the country.

Aside from the Federal Government, are the states keying into this initiative?

As of today, we have about 13 states, mostly from northern Nigeria, who are interested in areas such as security, agriculture, technology and the rest. As of today, we are also looking at more people getting involved, aside government agencies.

By next year, we are looking at actually building another one at the World Bank and also more of this event actually growing and putting it across different sectors. So, this is not to carry the entire nation for this forum; it is bit by bit. We are growing this forum to actually tackle each area that is affecting the system in Africa.

As much as we need the entire or different sector to get into it, the one that we are able to actually go with right now will be the ones that will benefit from this. As time goes on, we are looking at more and more of these government branches and different states, especially from the southwest, the southeast to key into it and the south-south.

In terms of investment in Africa, how much of African investors will be participating?

Now, we are having the African diaspora who have already made a huge success in their career coming together, because a lot of them do not actually know how to invest back home. We are taking this directly, not just to the foreigners, also Africans in diaspora, Nigerians in diaspora. This is an opportunity for them to actually key into it. We have a website where people have been registering to participate and also to exhibit.

This forum is actually going to guide Africans in diaspora to come back home and invest in the right channels, because a lot of them are scared of returning home. Some of them are like, ‘If people like Dangote is lamenting, is this the right time for us to go and invest?’ Now, this is the right time for every African to go back home and invest because now, they are dealing directly with the government; they are dealing directly with those who are making the policies.

So, this is the time they have to ask all the questions and ask for the templates. If I am investing in agriculture, what am I investing in? Am I investing in exporting or am I investing in starting from the beginning of the agricultural production? So, it now depends on the agribusiness you want to go into.

Where do you want to take this forum? What’s your target?

The ultimate goal of this forum is to encourage local content, support local brands and promote African products. We intend to lead the way into an economic revolution for the African people, and for the Nigerian people and also build trust between investors and African partners for a better economy and a developed continent.