By Adedapo Adesanya
The Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment in Lagos State, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, has said the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown from N27 trillion to N41 trillion within five years under the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Mrs Ambrose-Medebem made this claim while speaking at the third edition of the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS 3.0) organised by Sterling One Foundation in collaboration with her ministry.
At the event themed Invest Lagos–Investment Opportunities, she said the metropolis, as the nation’s commercial nerve centre, had been a beacon of economic activities, driven by a commitment to fostering a conducive environment for business and investment.
She stressed that the state had made progress in creating a business-friendly environment, noting that reforms aimed at streamlining processes, improving regulatory procedures, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and promoting entrepreneurship have been implemented.
“Lagos had made significant strides in diversifying its economy with strategic investments in various sectors, including allocating N550.7 billion to expand sustainable physical infrastructure in 2024 alone.
“We have consistently focused on boosting agriculture as a cornerstone of our economic diversification strategy, committing N44.33 billion to food security initiatives in cattle feedlot projects, fish processing, and wholesale produce hubs in communities.
“Lagos continues to lead in promoting Ease of Doing Business, which has positioned the state as a global city and an emerging African Financial Centre. Under the World Bank’s Subnational Doing Business Report and the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme, Lagos has met all parameters and qualified for the first phase of the initiative.
“The state is committed to further reforms that increase the transparency of official fees, improve investment promotion environments, and enhance land administration processes,” the Commissioner said.
The Governor, who was also at the programme with his cabinet, reeled out new investment focus and areas of opportunities to potential investors.
He projected a positive economic outlook, given its expanding population and development of sustainable infrastructure to drive growth despite the current harsh macroeconomic environment in the country.
Mr Sanwo-Olu said his government had been proactive in implementing business-friendly regulations and constantly reviewing Ease of Doing Business policies to lessen challenges associated with new business registration and obtaining permits.
“For us in Lagos, we have sustained a consistent growth in our investment profile. The minimum we can do is to take the growth to another level and ensure that the gains of the past years are not reversed.
“In the last five years, Lagos’s GDP has grown by 50 per cent despite the difficult economic conditions Lagos has faced. Our economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience.
“This new conversation with the investment community is necessary to de-risk issues while providing an enabling environment and assurance to address what could be investors’ major concern in committing their investments here. Whatever the size of the investment injected into Lagos, we will play our role as a state government to ensure that these efforts are guaranteed returns and security,” he said.
Mr Sanwo-Olu highlighted areas of opportunities to invest, including transportation, tourism, health insurance and waterways, noting that the state government remained committed to pushing forward its ambitious development plans for the listed sectors.
Business Post reports that the forum was held with business leaders, multilateral chambers of commerce, financial services executives and captains of industry in attendance.