The Ministry of Budget and National Planning will be organising an Open Day on Tuesday 15th May 2018 to mark the end of the first phase of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) Focus Labs.
The event slated for the International Conference Centre in Abuja will be flagged off by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and will be attended by the lead sector Ministers involved in the first phase of the labs.
Focus Labs are designed as a workshop-style closed-door investment fora between private sector and senior government officials, and serve as a forum for detailed discussions and interactions to address some of the bottlenecks and inhibitors of additional business investments in the economy.
The first phase of Labs took place over a six week period in Abuja from March 12th to April 22nd and were focused on six core sectors:
– Agriculture and Transportation,
– Power and Gas,
– Manufacturing and Processing (including solid minerals).
The Open Day is an opportunity to present the outcomes of these initial Labs and elicit feedback from the public. Lead Ministers will be available to present lab outcomes for their sectors and discuss the way forward to address identified bottlenecks and thereby unlock investments that can create new jobs in the country.
The Labs produced 67,200 man-hours of effort within a six-week period and involved 180 organisations including the relevant Ministries, Government agencies, authorities and private sector companies. Twenty (20) syndication meetings with subject matter experts including senior Government officials, corporates and entrepreneurs were also held during the Labs.
Commenting during the last week of the Labs, the Minister for Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma said: “Over the last few weeks, participants in the Labs have had an opportunity to engage the government directly on the complex inter-agency issues that hinder investment. The frank and open discussions between investors and nine cabinet Ministers and their teams, as well as several agencies and departments, are a critical first step to building trust and credibility between the public and private sectors and harnessing important partnerships that will unlock key investments to diversify the economy and create wealth and employment”.
