To promote regional economic development, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) announced on Tuesday that it has embraced the Chamber of Commerce model.
The NDDC said it chose the template a bid to propose lasting solutions to difficulties facing businesses in the in the region by offering structured business funding to entrepreneurs.
At a workshop for raising awareness about the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines, and Agriculture (NDCCITMA) in Yenagoa, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, Managing Director of NDDC, gave a speech.
Ogbuku encouraged Bayelsa business owners to utilize the financial resources, capacity building, and other possibilities made available to them by the NDCCITMA.
According to Ogbuku, NDDC created NDCCITMA in each of the nine states in the region to promote entrepreneurship. He also emphasized the board’s commitment to ensuring that the Niger Delta experiences growth through legitimate methods of economic empowerment.
In his words, the chamber would act as a liaison between the NDDC and the local business community, offering mechanisms to support innovators, entrepreneurs, and struggling companies in achieving their goals by easing their way through the demanding requirements of financial institutions.
Sen. Elder Dumaro, a member of the NDDC governing board who represents Bayelsa, Ogbuku encouraged all contractors and prospective contractors to register with the Chambers as a requirement before doing business with the commission.
He claims that the chamber’s initiatives will also improve manufacturing, food security, skill development, the blue economy, and youth employment.
The commission has formed a strategic collaboration with the Chambers to close a commercial gap and revitalize nano- and micro-level businesses, which are currently almost nonexistent, according to Mr. Victor Antai, Executive Director of the NDDC Project.
The executive director explained how the nine states in the region were carefully chosen to comprise the NDCCITMA Board of Directors.
Antai urged entrepreneurs and those with company ideas to seize the chance to consult the chamber for insightful business advice.
The Niger Delta’s business community had long called for a regional organization to coordinate operations, and the NDDC’s leadership was commended for its vision in promoting the Chamber of Commerce. Amb. Idaere Gogo Ogan, the chairman of NDCCITMA, made this statement earlier while being represented by Dr. Solomon Edebiri. He also mentioned that NDCCITMA would collaborate with the Commission as a development partner.
He clarified that investors and business owners wishing to open up shop in the Niger Delta will receive crucial advice from the chamber.
Chief James Neminebor, President Yenagoa Chamber of Commerce (YECCIMA), also spoke, and he urged the chamber to cooperate with the state Chambers of Commerce and utilize its sophisticated framework.
Several local government chairs from Bayelsa state and NDDC leadership were present at the program.
