NAN-HE-22
Entrepreneurship
By Akeem Abas
Ibadan, Oct. 26, 2017(NAN) Dr Zhou Pingjian, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, said on Thursday that 60 per cent of products made in China and exported to world market were made by foreign direct investors in China.
He disclosed this at a one-day Entrepreneurship Training on Sustainable Small Business at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training, organised by Monsurat Olajumoke Sunmonu World Empowerment Foundation (MOSWEF), was the maiden edition.
MOSWEF is an NGO sponsored by Sunmonu and has provided platform for empowerment for over 200 people from Oyo Central Senatorial District.
Thee training, with the theme `How to Manage a Sustainable Small Business’, had 400 beneficiaries from the constituency.
Pingjian also stated that most of the made in China goods exported to Nigeria were made by Nigerians in China.
He said China’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in I979 was zero, adding the FDI of China at the end of 2016 was $1.7 trillion.
The Chinese Ambassador added that China had developed due to its focus on economic development since 1979 when it started economic recovery programme.
Pingjian said for any country to breakthrough as a nation economically, government and political leadership must be ready to take a visionary leap in those sectors.
“China will always promote Chinese business class to invest in Nigeria because Nigeria has everything to achieve its economic growth,’’ he said.
Pingjian attributed the growth of China to the strong reforms carried out in the country and the commitment of the people of China.
He said China government has pledged 60 billion dollars to support China-African Cooperation projects for 2016 to 2018, saying about 40 billion dollars had been disbursed at the end of June.
“An example of such projects is the Lagos-Ibadan railway, which is contracted by CCECC and financed by China bank. The project is 1.3 billion dollars and part of the 60 billion dollars,” he said.
He commended Sunmonu for her foresight, charging participants to be ambitious, open minded, focused and be ready to make sacrifices when starting businesses.
Sunmonu said that the programme was designed to teach the selected participants how to manage finances to ensure that businesses set up did not fail but successful.
She observed that nine out of every 10 businesses failed in the first five years of being set up, saying many people with entrepreneurial drive did not properly plan before business.
“Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China’s economy has been one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Science and technology are considered vital to China’s economic and political goals with laudable investment in basic and applied scientific research and engineering.
“ In 2009, China graduated over 10,000 PhD engineers and 500,000 Bsc graduates. China is also the world’s second largest publisher of scientific papers.
“In Oyo Central, by virtue of our positive relations with the Chinese Embassy, we have been able to facilitate scholarships for Masters and PhD students at Chinese Universities and international training programmes for indigenes.
“We have also secured collaborative assistance for local training of the kind we are here for today,’’ she said.
The lawmaker added that the training programme would serve as a “catalyst towards ensuring sustainability of growth of small businesses in a unique way”. (NAN)
TAA/IA