LADOL, Others Strategise on How Africa Can Benefit from $12trn Investment

The Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics base (LADOL), has joined notable world business promoters in mapping out strategies on how Nigeria and other African countries could effectively benefit from a whopping $1 trillion from a projected $12 trillion new market value in an emerging global economic system.

In its second meeting of the year held recently in Nairobi Kenya, the body essentially deliberated on ways of getting the African continent to optimally benefit from the huge projection with the conclusion that the continent could rake in $1 trillion dollars from the projected $12 trillion largesse, if well harnessed.

The commission, THISDAY learnt

has a twin objective of mapping the economic advantages that could be available to businesses if the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, and highlighting how businesses can contribute to delivering such goals.

In its wide range deliberations at the Kenya confab, the commission, under the chairmanship of former Deputy Secretary –General of the United Nations (UN), Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, noted that African business leaders, entrepreneurs and economies can benefit and even help to develop significant economic opportunities if they pursue sustainable business models.

The opportunities and how to achieve them took centre stage at the two-day events hosted by Safaricom and Intellecap in Nairobi, to launch the African Better Business, Better World report from the BSDC.
The projected $12 trillion economic developing plan evolved from a meeting of the world business leaders in London, United Kingdom (UK), under the aegis of Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC), to impact on the global economic system within the next decade.

At the London meeting, the group had raised the optimism that sustainable business models could open economic opportunities of such high value while at the same time creating over 380 million jobs every year by 2030.

The Business and Sustainable Development Commission which was launched in Davos in January 2016, has the Managing Director of LADOL Dr. Amy Jadesimi as a member from Nigeria alongside other 36 global business entrepreneurs drawn from business, finance, civil society, labour, and international organisations across the world.

According to the Commission’s Chair, Lord Malloch Brown, “the world is seeing increasingly that African companies are models for what can be achieved with ingenuity and innovation as they solve difficult social challenges. They are not wedded to old solutions and so here in Kenya, we see digital innovators delivering banking energy and health solutions. The speed of innovation and adoption is astonishing.

“The Better Business, Better World report launch in Nairobi puts the African private sector squarely in the drivers’ seat on the road to achieving sustainable development and we welcome more African business leaders to join the Business Commission.”
A key message in the report from the deliberation hosted by Safaricom –a leading mobile telecom operator in Kenya, and Intellecap is that, “digital solutions and entrepreneurs will be critical to unlocking many of the opportunities”.
It further stated that, “research from the report has identified 32 ‘development’ unicorns that are developing global goals related with market caps of more than $1 billion. In Africa, entrepreneurs are bringing in new solution to development problems remarkable ways, and the opportunities are compelling”.

Stressing further, the report noted that a single one of the market hot spot-affordable housing, could create over 13 million jobs within a short period, stressing that, “risk pooling is the single largest monetary opportunity in Africa valued at $150 billion. This year, the Commission hopes to focus on working with companies to strengthen corporate alignments with the Global Goals which includes mentoring the next generation of sustainable development leaders; creating sectoral roadmaps and league tables that rank corporate performance against the Global Goals; and supporting measures to unlock blended finance for sustainable infrastructure investments.”

Commenting on the goals of the Commission, Jadesimi, urged members to demonstrate commitment to the ideals of the report, beyond making it a mere paper work. “We need to show these ideas work not just in a report but on the business frontline,” she added.