Hey, I'm good evening everyone, and welcome to another money space with me carlu Aja. On the space, we're talking money, we're talking the economy. We're talking personal finance, and the whole idea is to make this personal to you, to make you a better investor, and talk about the economy in general. Now, if you've not noticed, if you're following us, the past week, we've been on the theme of the economy. We've done taxes, we've done dipecification, we've done the textile companies.
We try to bring in many you know, should we say many parts of the niger economy into focus. How can we grow the economy, How can we make Nige economy better to work for the taxpayers an even for the government, because the better economy, of course, try this to better governance from the government. That's what we're just on that theme of. So this week we're talking, of course diversification and that's a word every Nigerian has heard,
because every government wants to diversify the economy. You know, we want to know, take away our alliance on crude oil and to have an economy that grows and delivers for Nigeral people, not just via crude oil. That's always with a mantra in Nigeria. So how well have we done so far? Should we stay from say nineteen sixty If you put the data for currently where we are in Nigeria, you would find that the niger economy itself is diversified. The niger economy is diversified according to oil
and non oil. The non oil part is booming. The oil part was in a recession until recently. If you also go to the non oil part and say what constitutes that growth in Nigeria, you would find agriculture, you would find services, you would find telecoms. These are the folks that are growing the Nigerian economy. Crude oil employs very little and it's a very rather small part of the niger economy. I don't think it's up to fifteen
percent of the GDP of Nigeria. The problem really is the diversification of revenues, because Nigeria has not been able to diversify high revenues, especially have foreign exchange revenues. So you then have a situation where crude oil, with less than fifteen percent of the GDP of Nigeria, contributes somewhere between eighty nine to ninety four or so of the forest revenues of Nigeria. Keep in mind, the largest revenue source for Nigeria is corporate income taxes V eighty, customs income,
that sort of thing. But because Nigeria imports a lot. Nigeria used to imports, how fuels are pmst just before we got down go to refinery. We do a lot of food imports. We import a lot of wheat, a lot of fish. We do a lot of invisibles. So when we travel abroad for medicals or we travel of broad for education, those are also quote unquote imports. Because we have a high import overhang in Nigeria, it means that we've got to end a lot of foreign exchange
just to keep the economy running. Give it keep in mind again and try to imports a lot of machineries that I used to then manufacture goods in Nigeria. So the something is that you have an economy in Nigeria that exports a lot of products. Just one product crude oil, and it ends eighty nine percent of the forests. It gets from that crude oil, right and from that crude oil, we're then expected to then maintain a naira whod's value is based on the crude oil export numbers and the
crude oil export price. Huge strain on the Central Bank of Nigeria's reserves, which is why you then see the naira the local currency devalue, depreciate and have a lower purchasing power because it's all in a circle. If we can't export crude oil, the impact is felt on the local currency. We can't with our quanity, it is not should we say have a higher value meaning that imports are more expensive, mean that that important inflation then happens,
and that vicious circle then happens in Nigeria. When we cannot we see import cheaper. The solution, clearly, guys, is simple if we were able to diversify the economy, right, if we're were to have an economy where not just crude oil was gen written forest Nigeria, but we had agriculture, we had petrochemicals, if we had entertainment, and perhaps we reduce the share of crude oil by increasing the share
of the other factors. So instead of just having eighty nine percent from crude oil, we got thirty percent from crude oil, but we increased the share of manufacturing. The share of entertainment, the share of agriculture too also earn for x and to also employ Nigerian's locally. If we had that sort of economy, they were not so tied into crude oil prices and production. The economy is now
more than specified and can withstand external shocks. Right now, the biggest external shock is the election of the new of the new president in America. What happens if America says, hey, we're going to expand crude oil export from America, We're gonna go to India, We're gonna go to the EU. Those are Nigeria's traditional market. Whatch you then mean that? Of course Nigeria would then have to look for more places to export crude oil and I export in US.
For keep in mind, oil prices do not have to go down for niger economy to suffer from this mono you know, Mono should say economy that we have. If our markets are attacked i e. A new supplier goes to those markets and offers a lower price than Nigeria offers, then the economy will feel the impact of not being diversified. And again, diversification means jobs. The more we are diversified agriculture. The more we are diversified to trade and manufacturing, those
are jobs being created. So we want to we want to have to talk this week to like a real practitioner in the space. We want to talk to a company that is literally discharge of devastation. I like this. Particular companies are number one, they're working on the state. Number two, they're working on the federal government. Number three they are money, so we say they are supported manufacturing
trade services. They are create jobs on show, they are bringing in technology on show, they are creating export endings for nine tuia all at the same time. Hence, I wanted to just introduce them in so we could talk to David like fire no fireside chat, just talk see what they're doing, what can we learn from them, and then of course take it from there. I'm talking other than the guys in Alaro City in the Legals Free
Trade Zone. I'm happy to have the ND here. I'm going to have him on mute so I can introduce himself them from there. I have a few questions for him, then we'll take from there. Welcome sir, how are you doing today?
Good even name Carlus, Thank you very much, Thank you for having me.
I'm doing well, excellent, a lot.
About your show and very excited to be here.
Excellent. Thank you so much, sir. Do you mind introesting yourself just for folks. I don't know you, just your name, what you do company?
Yeah, good evening everyone. My name is Yomi Adam Mola.
I'm the managing director at Alto City. I'm also the Chairman West Africa for ren Government, which is the majority shareholder of a lot of city and also the largest private developer of special Economic Zones and cities in Africa.
Wow, thank you well. First of all, just say types of being here, sir, I appreciate that. I know if you had my introduction about diversification, just go really into that diversification. The point I'm making is that Nigeria over the years has tried to diversify the economy. We have succeeded in that. We haven't diversified the foreign exchange and it's part of the economy. So we are now in this phase where if oil prices go down, it affects
everything in Nigeria. It affects jobs, it affects inflation, it's affected revenues that states, local and Pello government gets in Nigeria. So we're talking about just trus question to you, how important is an economic diversification for my address long term strategy to reduce it relies on crude oil. I mean, talk to us about diversification if you will, if you can, thank you, Carlu.
I mean, indeed, economic diversification is actually essential. You know, building a more resilient economy requires us to diversify. You know, if you look at where we are focused oil, nothing wrong with oil or gas, but when you consider price volatility, if you look at the global trends towards renewables, it's clear that for long term planning and execution, we need
to be looking at sectors. Some of which you mentioned are Greek technology, manufacturing, and various services, especially business process outsourcing. I think, and I'll speak more to that perhaps later, but yeah, we need to create diversity of revenue streams.
We need more jobs.
You know, in twenty fifty, Nigeria is likely to be the third largest country.
In the world after India and China.
Jobs are critical to social and political stability. We need to be focused on managing unemployment. We need to be focused on growing a middle class, and jobs are an essential part of that. That versification of the economy, as we said, is going to be linked hand in hand with job creation, which is essential.
Gotcha, just the primer. Someone's already asking me a question on DM what is the relationship with the Alaro City and the freetrads And just to give us a primer, just so we situate ourselves geographically, what's the relationship?
Thank you, And that's a great question because I actually took note. There's a small point of clarification. Alaro City is located in the Leaki Free Zone the Legos Free Zone, So both of those are two prominent free.
Zones in Nigeria, both in Legos.
So the Lucky Free Zone is the largest free zone in West Africa. It is a sixteen thousand, five hundred head tests by comparison Victoria Islands approximately eight hundred head tests to give you a sense here. So in the Leaky Free Zone you have a portion managed by Leaky Free Zone Development Company, lots investors there, including a number
of Chinese investors. You have Dangote Industries where the fertilizer plant and the refinery are and then you have Alara City which has a number of light industry mixed use players and lots of housing and mixed uses for retail and the rest at the Legos Free Zone which is located in close proximity to Luky Free Zone. Literally across
the small you have the Leaky Deep Seeport. So that is where the new Leaky Deep support which is between you know, Chinese investors and the portant investors and then.
Federal and state government in Nigeria legal state.
So we are located Alto City in the northwest quadrant of the Leaky Free Zone. So all of the actors I've just mentioned, a lot of City is the new kid on the block. We launched in January twenty nineteen, five years ago, so just over sixty months, and in that period we on boarded over seventy several countries excuse me, companies within the country, a number of foreign investors and
a number of indigenous companies and conglomerates. We're also very proud to have a significant SME demographic within a lot of city. We believe that SMEs that are the heartbeat, the majority of.
Employment is from SME.
Is the majority of companies in the country, our SMEs, and we believe that SMBs are supposed to be able to benefit from the.
Free zone regime in Nigeria.
And so we're very proud to have a dedicated SME on cliff. We have preferential pricing and tarists for SME to encourage them to participate and benefit on the freezone region.
Wow.
Interesting, that sounds massive, don't mind me saying. So that's massive. You've got a deep sea port, they've got the Chinese, the refineries, You've got you guys in there. That cluster alone in terms of GDP is larger than most regions in Nigeria. How is that aiding exports in Nigeria? That is there a connection with just building that cluster and should we say exports going from Nigeria I didn't know bus that we can say have gone up because of this this infratructory development.
Oh sure, sure. You know, infrastructure creates an enabling environments. This lucky freezone access is in my opinion, the most prolific development corridor in the region, potentially in Africa. It's such a concentrated area. I mean in terms of billions of dollars have been spent between you know, the Dangote companies, including the projects including the refinery, like you did, a number of American companies Kellogg's Corgates coming at allat the city.
We have Bua Group and Sterium.
They have Canadian company Aerial Foods, Mantrak, Caterpillar, American brand Caterpillar, and again a number of indigenous players.
So when you when you know, they say, when you build it, they will come.
And if you an environment where there are you know, high quality infrastructure projects executed, so you have world class planet. You have good roads, it is a secure environment. You have electricity and a lot of city people are producing in twenty four to seven. We have a you know, power generation license, a power distribution license, and the brit in tech, whether you're in pharmaceuticals, whether in your logistics called storage or otherwise, you can have twenty four to
seven power. It is predictable, there is power assurance. You can have internet right, so we we have a roll through the fiber. We've connected the site from kilometers away to ensure that there is fiber there with built in redundancy, so that there's fiber coming from different directions and we're going to further make it redundant by adding microwave radio. So that again we look at tech Earlier you talked
about services in tech. Export of services is a very unique space that is very impactful for job creation for the young Nigeria highly educated, very dynamic, entrepreneurial language of Nasi English, which travels to a lot of the business community internationally, from call centers to tech support. We can compete effectively with Silicon Valley. We can compete with India, with China, with the Tel Aviv.
If we have a.
Coordinated environment with good Internet, you are exporting services, generating hard currency, improving income levels.
And that trickles into the economy.
So the freebooks provide a very robust and broad platform for every industry.
Earlier you talked about exports.
I just talked about export services, which is an area I think Nigerians to focus on. Indeed, the Vice President launched the Outsource to Nigeria Initiative, which is pushing and promoting a Nigeria to the world for a business process outsourcing EPO, but not just export.
The free zones in Nigeria have very.
Effectively facilitated significant investment all of the projects I've mentioned on more Now you see area is the largest market in West Africa as an example, right and it's the largest market in Africa in terms of the number of people and one of the largest economies. Now, when you look at investors looking to access market in Africa, Nigeria is always.
One of the top of the list, if not the top.
So when you have a free zone regime that creates a simplified ease of business environment with tax and twote incentives, they will come and when they come, they're closer to their market. So one of the most strategic and impressive things that government did going back to two thousand and two was when the President authorized for one hundred percent of what is produced or assembled in Nigerian free zones to be permitted to come into Nigeria.
It is since that time to now the last two decades plus where.
You have seen terms of billions invested into Nigeria. Before that, the free zone regime in Nigeria was not as robust, did not attract as much investment.
So just to be clear, you can bring it in one hundred percent into the friezes and take it out one hundred percent to money, it's one hundred percent taxpay and all that to diffree.
Yeah, let me let me clarify that.
Sorry, calum so many free zones or let me say some free zones and historically Nigerian free zones, you have to export a portion of what is produced in the free zone outside of Nigeria and you would only be allowed to bring in a certain percent. Now because free zones and other industrial hubs in Bernin and Ghana, in Coude for a Cameroon, as far as Kenya are targeting
the Nigerian market to make us competitive. The very wise thing that government did was to create a globally competitive free zone regime that has globally competitive tax and duty incentives.
And then they said you don't have to export.
You are permitted to export one hundred percent, but on the flip side, you are permitted to import one hundred percent. So it will be the multative player to satisfy the biggest market in Africa, Nigeria, the enterprises that are based in Nigeria. So instead of particularly within the context of Africa Free free trade Zone, free trade treaty, instead of having companies in other countries creating jobs, bringing technology, bringing investment to ben In, to god to Kenya, don't being
products in the largest market in Nigeria. The wiest thing in Nigeria did was say, come and set up here. You can export to anywhere in the world and you will also be the Nigerian market. You can access the Nigerian market. And that's when we started to see significant investment increase into the free Yeah, so what the.
By products you mentioned earlier?
I took a note you said something about, you know, the high import overhead and needing to generate purpose, right, and you talked about going outside for education and going outside for health care. The beautiful thing about the Free Zone in Nigeria is that because they have allowed one hundred percent of what is producing the Free Zone to come into the country, it has really posted import substitution.
So we're not looking for that dollar to go to Turkey, go to China, go to the buy to import.
What we are saying is don't import, ready to use the reputed food produce it here.
Be close to the market.
You can be very priced competitive, reduce your logistics costs to satisfy the market has to be profitable.
The accents this. So we have a company called Area of Foods.
Before they came to Nigeria into allow the city almost five years ago.
Nigeria was a net importer of r you t ready to use.
The reputed food is the food that manutrition children internally displays children people that take for nutrient unic and USA ideas when they came into Nigeria, into Alar City in the last four and a half five years. Now Nigeria is a net exporter of that product. So one hundred of the demand from within Nigeria sat Aside from within Nigeria and from a Lara City, they're exporting to seventeen countries around the world. And now Nigeria has security in
this space. It can all be provided without you mentioned the president of another country taking a decision.
Without so this can hand anywhere being blocked. You can now do it. And it's the same thing with the detergent.
So if you look at POA group Sterium z at Alara City, import detergent into Nigeria, clear the port and sell it. Now they produce it at Allaro City. They're not sent to Turkey or China anywhere else.
They're producing it here. The jobs are here, the technology is here, and they're.
Supplying the market, the Nigerian market, the Nigerian market, Nigerian and international.
Yes, yes, yes, So the next focus is we've talked about services, let's.
Talk about education and healthcare.
The amount of money leaving Nigeria art currency to facilitate payment of school fees and medical bills. Let us offer a hand of partnership and let us also be more entrepreneurial and resilient. And let us bring some of that world class education and world class health care. Bring it into the zone. Capitalize on the incentives, bring equipment in duty free. Don't worry about expertise, They're not expert quotas.
People can come in as required to service right and then now people can drive down the street or take a domestic flight to access world.
Class health care or education. It is here in Nigeria. The jobs are in Nigeria. They pay tax is paid in Nigeria. So this is what we need to continue.
Input substitution, promoting industrialization, promoting export including export of services.
Which can help us accelerate job create. So we have a sister project.
I mentioned that Endeavor is the best private developer, especially economics and cities. We have a project called Tatoo City in aerobic Kenya and this year launched a building where a BPO company a call center in one year has created eight thousand jobs for young people in Kenya. This is what our Sources to Nigeria initiative is looking to achieve in BPOs. So a lot of city wants to position to be a big part of that.
So we're going to have that outsource since set up also in Nigeria in this city as well.
Most definitely, so we're already working engaging with Outsources to Nigeria initiative. Some of the key one of the key factors are the enabling environment. Right, it's a lot of young people.
With jobs, a little place to exactly.
So all the all of the projects I.
Talked about, the seaport, the refinery, the fertilizer plant, all of those international companies, Allara.
Cities are lookid on the block.
All of these projects are big, they ambitious, the very lord of and we're all complementary. But these projects have taken up a big portion of people's focus and investment.
Seaports we find it where do all of the employees live?
So a lot of city has I don't need right, This is within the wider context of a housing deficits in Nigeria, and so we have quickly become the largest developer, residential developer in the entire LeKi free zone.
So we have over five hundred and.
Fifty customers now serving the needs of people that are going to work in and around the freeze on that ecosystem. So it's not enough to have tax and BLUETO incentives. It's not enough to have big infrastructure projects. You have to have the ecosystem. You have to have the housing, have the retail, the leisure, you need to have the education,
and you need to have the healthcare. And so a lot of city is a mixed use free zone, light industry, logistics, commercial, but we are focused on all those other quality of life areas, so enter, what's art, live venues.
But yes, people are coming in because of housing, including BP so.
They have they have icit, they have electricity, they have housing, they have infrastructure. So to your plot to, everybody has portable water, everybody has ICT fiber, everybody has sewage and it's a secure environment. So this is where investment can drive. So definitely, people very well possessed.
Because I don't let me just tell you I've gotten I think about six or so dms, and they are all saying something to the effect of is he talking about Nigeria something to the defect of either people are asking is this in Nigeria or is this saying they want to build it? Or is it in the lucky that folks like, and I'm honest with you, folks are like, is he saying it's going to be done? Or this is already existing in Legos, Guys, It's already in Legos.
I'll give you a data points pulled up here. Mister nonia I ny the ED of the Niger Expert Promotional councilor is saying as half year even be four, getting about two point seven billion in non oil exports, is not oil, not crude two point seven billion And that's what mister Only is saying. All this, you know, is quoting aerial foods. We're exported in seventeen countries Boa where thet gets coming in also going out. Ty you don't
talk about ty logistics. I think is is that the offshore you're talking about.
No, No, t Y Holdings, A company called t Y Holdings is breaking ground in the logistics space. Now if you look at supply chain, especially post COVID, if you look at in particular areas like whole storage, where there's such a deficiency.
Goods. These A Bit Pharmaceuticals and the rest.
T Y Holdings has taken a bold step and has come into the tree zone at a Laro City. It's taken over a ninety thousand square meter plot and they have built, working with Alara City, a grade a state of the arts logistics park like nothing that exists in Nigeria, specialist contractors, exceptionally high ceilings, room for automation and software to be used to do inventory management, value added services.
It's the kind of thing that will make it easy for international manufacturers FMCG traders to keep it and so they have taken a bolt position. They have noted the proximity to the Lucky Deep Seaport. The Leaky Deep Seaport, which is also is alive on World. It's been built, it's been operational now two years. Is the largest and
the deepest seaport in West Africa. So the largest vessel that can come into the Leaky Deep Seaport around the corner from a lot of city is I believe three and a half times the size in terms of the capacity of containers consignment and that that can come into a paper. So when you think about the efficiency and what it can mean for increase in trade import and export.
Every one vessel can.
Do three and a half times equivalent of three and a half vessels going into a paper, and given the science and depth of a paper, and so it is positioning Legos right. And remember Legos a lot of the trade with Nigeria and even some of the neighboring countries to the north that are landlocked.
It comes to those parts.
And so if you don't have the right enigbling infrastructure, or put it different way, if you have the wrong enabling infrastructure, that is the difference between an extra you know, seven hundred and fifty to two million jobs, more products reaching the market efficiently, more lives impacted. And so this critical infrastructure that the government and the private actors are pursuing, I think it is very critical.
We all know about the.
Lucky quite expressly, the rehability mentioned by Lego State. We all know about the federal Legos Calaban, the bit that is happening in Legos which goes to the Lucky for its own access along the Atlantic Ocean. And we all know about Jabut the road down but by Goben States, Craneberg Construction Company and By the way, when we talk about contributors to the norm oil economy, yeah we should.
Not construction and real estate. Construction and real estate.
Let me talk about the infrastructure projects. Let me talk about reducing the housing deficit. These are material contributors to the non oil sector. When tracking the economy.
Essentially, what I'm hearing is they ask the crown printing to buy How did you build a buy set, build a port, build housing, build manufacturing. Don't tax them. That's it. That's essentially what I hear us doing. I'm hearing the deep sea port, let goods come in. The fiscal site has been taking care of zero imports, injury imports out, big huge advantage. I'm hearing world class infrastructure to maximize the you know the incentives that I given already warehousing.
What about this digital economic zone? I'm interested in that because against folks are asking me do ordinary quote unquote Nigeria are they able to go in there like digital normald Well, they need that service. So fir also asking what is this digital economic zone? I hear you say
there's power twenty four to seven. Does it mean if I'm in that zone and I have maybe my starlings I'm able to basically set up it not the heavy manufacturing down or the heavy realistic Is there also a space for me in the services side?
You know, I pause for a second, Colum, because I enjoy there's a reason you're the host.
I enjoy listening to you. I enjoyed your quote of the Grand Prince.
You said it succinctly, and what you described is indeed the essence of what we are saying. There is a blueprint for how to push in virsualization, how to create jobs, and it does involve in an increasing globally competitive environment, in liberalized environment where you have is of business, you operating environment must be smooth, it must be easy to incorporate, it must be easy to bring in equipment and.
People, and you must da and duty incentives. So that is indeed what we are saying.
The seaport is one aspect the wise planning of the Lacky free zone is that there's also an airport that we've all probably heard about, the Leaky air grea international airport, which is the other side of the free zone.
So the largest free zone in the.
Region are potted by airport and an airport. The seaport is up and we've all seen the announcements and are tracking it from the legal.
Government and we believe that that airport will come up. And I have to give credit quickly before I answer your question, Calu.
The Lego State government is a partner, as you alluded to in the beginning, to reendeavor in allow of city, and I think the Lego State government is probably the most progressive and business friendly subnational at least certainly one of the most progressive and business friendly on the continent when you look at the projects and the infrastructure projects, the PPP models they're pursuing.
And so without that kind of support, that enabling environment, the.
Support for critical infrastructure, that seaport, you can't do what you described and really correct.
So now to the tech.
Yes, we have at Allar City a client called it Mosto known as Talent City to some Talent City now Itana has received approvals to host the first digital economic zone in Africa.
And so what that is is they have come in in a physical sense to a lot of city.
They have taken a position, they have registered as a free zone and their core business is to host a cloud based and I want to apologize, okay to anybody who is exceptionally savely on technology.
I am not, and I'm exceptionally The reversal, from my understanding is that they.
Have They have set up a digital economic zone that allows a digital cloud based community of users to to to subscribe and to come into that community to set up and the free zone platforms that allow them to undertake cloud based activities right in a tax free and efficient manner. They are already operational. They are registering people.
I don't believe they are fully operational, and they are working closely with nepside, the Nigeria and Export Processing Zones of the regulator RESONTS to bring that to full operational status and full suite of services. But that is only
one aspect and a very exciting aspect. But when you look at incubators, when you look at companies that have hundreds of thousands of desks where people are sitting down picking up the phone to answer questions and provide tech support, When you look at programmers quoders who want to take jobs from around the world on a deadline, charge a fee and get paid to deliver high quality service, then my kind of layman understanding is we need a few
of these very talented and entrepreneur people right do long commute to being stock in traffic with their backpacks.
And lab We need them one place where they can live.
They can commute, They can be outdoor door with internet, they can exchange ideas and be created in a community within themselves. Now one man, one woman, one laptop, you can set up your free Zone enterprise. You can export your services. You can compete with anybody around the world to offer a technological service to a company, to an individual,
to a production house. And if you have twenty four hour hour and if your internet is up twenty four hours a day, then I have no reason to believe that Nigeria will not compete favorably amongst the best in the world.
It is when you are stoking traffic. It is when you are in the checkpoint. Is when there is.
Downtime that your competitors globally will take that job and will deliver. And because you're in the freeze of the income you generate, so that allows you to be more competitive with your pricing.
So free Zone is not just about attracting foreunt investment. It's about attracting investment.
BOA is a Nigeria group, a number of our clients, including the SMME is a Nigerian companies. They are other businesses expansion and they are having presence in many.
Parts of the country including the Free Zone and.
Where we are seeing the region of investment because of the regime that has been provided the infrastructure, the utilities is the Free Zone and that's where the jobs are coming from, including in tech.
All right, I guess I'm forget. If you want to have a question or a comment, send me a DM. I'm just having a few issues adding people. Just send me a DM and I'm sure I read it back to Missulu and so just talking about how do you guys generate power? Prejeaty twenty four to seven power high generating power? In that power should we say that we're in the quote unquote green you know green environment and environmental social governance? How is that power? Is it clean power?
Is that a plus for us? I just want to get your take on that.
Absolute calum.
I mean, sustainability is the pillar for us and we have to also take you from what.
Is happening around the world.
Even if you want to be effective and impowerful in expecting investment, you have to be s You have to be environmentally but at the same time you must provide a predictable supply of power, and so we don't do diesel generators. In fact, diesel generators are restricted only to contingency use in critical industries, hospitals, data centers, things like that. A number of companies that allow our city today are operating with our generator.
So we have moved to gas, which is cleaner.
Right, We're currently on compress natural gas and we're in the process of tying it to have access to pipe natural gas. We have our own equipment which we own end to end, and as I mentioned earlier, we've been licensed by regulation.
We must be licensed separately. Were licensed.
One of our subsidiaries is licensed as a power generation company and one is licensed as a power distribution company.
And so we generate and articulate power to your doorstep. We connect to you. If you want to produce twenty four hours a day, you're going to have power. If you want to if you live there, you have power twenty four seven. But we can stop there.
Right, we must do better, and so at a lot of city we encourage and promot moot use of solar panels.
If and again we have a number of industries and factories.
So we have significant roof space, you know, ten thousand squameters worth of roof space that can generate number of metal words of power from solar. And so we have a hybrid source grade that allows us to take power from solar, and we actually prioritize solar cleaner, more cost effective to supply clients, and we.
Encourage clients to use solar.
A number of our clients are actually using or applying to use solar insular within their plot for their roof. But when you think about the fact that we have over six hundred clients and allow the city between residential and industrial, I don't know if we have up to five generators.
Five generators are or use some contingency.
Only Wow, a place where generators in Nigeria are contingency. That's that's this is this is the dream Nigeria. This was the Nigeria We're supposed to be, right. I wish we had five of these all across the coast and even in inland in Nigeria. We would be the issue of defistication I think would have been solved because if we then go into manufacturing agriculture upcountry and like you said services. If we're going to entertainments and all that,
we bring in tons of revenues. Again, like the pogniture of making sight. It's not just the important exports, but in Nigerian companies themselves going to Allaro, creating local jobs, creating local world local productivity, then exporting the productivity. It's it's marvelous. I'm shocked I haven't heard about this in more detail. Really really, again, that's what most of the
comments are saying. This is fantastic. What's the direct rule should we say of Allaro and contributed Niger's economic diversification? Just a bit more expansive direct role Alaro has come in Nigeria has gotten this, don't I know you talked about the aral and all that any more examples of this?
Sure? Sure.
So before I just answer that, I just want to say that again there's a blueprint when you said that we need more of this. Every geopolitical zone needs geopolitical zone needs multiple of these. This is how countries have industrialized, This is how jobs have been created, income levels have risen, middle classes have grown.
It is not a mystery. And so I fully align with what you say, we need more of this, it's a good thing.
I think the free zones are a key HAVNO to diversify the economy, to promote industry, create jobs, and very importantly to create it's sustainable, predictable environment. I think in postitution across the board is key when you talk about our role. Allow City, as I mentioned, is a PIPP public private partnership between DEVA and Level State and we are the company. Our joint mentioned company or PPP company is the one that has applied to the federal government.
And I joined Export Zones to be a zone free zone management company and so we have an allocation of land within the Leaky free Zone. We're conceived on two thousand hectares of land within the northwest quartern of the Leaky Free Zone. And our responsibility is to manage the project. What does manage the project mean in some countries? And I just mean this from a factory perspective, not as a critique. It's just to let you know the journey.
What is our role? What do we do? In some free zones?
Government will put road, security, government will put electricity, government will put water through which governments will give you internet. Right, let me speak for allur city and for most free zones, to my knowledge, you get a piece of land. So every road you see electricity, everything under the ground, the wet and the dry ducks for services, the fencing you see when we talk about power, when we talk about showage, when we talk about portable water storage, treatment, reticulation to
your plot. So you don't have industrial grade book all over the place. You have water by pipe right when you look at all of that. Somebody has to do that. That is the zone manager, that is Alaro City. So that's the environment I talk about that makes it easy for the Mexican international investors. On my setup, it's plug and play, so you don't have to come and build a factory, you know, in a bush. Let me say, and it starts from planning work up. If you're an
industrial area in Alarosity, your neighbor will be industrial. If you're in a residential area, by use high density, low density, medium density, the streets will have consistency in terms of the facade. You wake up and find a warehouse next to a villa, and you will not find a banking hall next to you know, a detergent manufacturers. Yes, this is the organizing I mean, it starts with planning. The planning is where you will not loose. World class planning
is how you start. Then you execute the infrastructure. The planning is alarocity, the infra larocity fundamentals, right road and the rest the utilities. The power that this that licensing, the execution, the capex, the manpower, the operational maintenance is all the zone manager. And then you develop directly, you develop with partners or you market to investors who will come in and develop facilities, warehouses, commercial buildings, residential and
the rest. And so what you have is hundreds of millions of dollars. We are not you know, the Lucky deep support. We're not the refinery. We're not you know, fifteen billion dollar investment. Orthough, it is clearly a multi billion dollar project and five years ago hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested a number of our clients are having systemic and national impact. And Alaro City is
only one portion of the Lucky Free Zone. And so when you look at the free zone regime in Nigeria and you look at the jobs created, is very creative. Over five thousand jobs directed in direct alarcity only and not talking about other parts of the Free Zone or the Lebel's Free Zone.
It is it is clear that the income levels.
Around that area, the development around that area, the occupancy rates for accommodation around that area, the rate of development of residential in particular uses that have all come up. And without the free zone region, without alarcity on the other zones, it would just be land.
In the arena. We must be in the arena. And once you are in the arena, and.
Ideally with the support of government working hand in hand, you can create a lot of value and.
A lot of it.
Because I look at Ethiopia. Ethiopia has got this extensive you know, partnership with the Chinese where they have acres of manufacturing. The Chinese have this should we say cluster, this soul employed tons of Ethiopians, tons a lot of them. And the export this closed you know to shops, branch name shops outside the country. So if you look at Bangladesh, look at Vietnam making billions from the exports of just sewing.
You know, so when you say every state should have this and just thinking of you know, you go to Nigeria where you have very very cheaply but lots of folks are unemployed, and you can have this massive you know, free trade zones that is just targeted just sewing tailoring. That's it. We just tailor a hoodie and you export
and billions coming. So it just tie into wards. You're saying that we can do much more than just chasing down the oil avenue if the states the regions can come together have just one free trade zone near an airport or a seaport or a real evacuation route. This is small or less baked in. So you know, I hear what you're saying.
Sorry, Carlo, if I can't just come in, you see, because even when you talk about every state, and I'll also link it back to Ethiopia, we have to be very clear about how this thing happens. You know, for instance, Allaro city, right, we have the enabling environment and we have immense support. We have now decided how do we allocate resources. The state is doing the Lacky Aquare Expressway. The state is a stakeholder shareholder excuse me, in the
Lucky deep support. The state is promoting the international airport. All of the capital being deployed inside a lot of city. This capital is private, private company, and so we have to note even in Ethiopia, when you have the right policy framework, you can attract investment. But to retain that investment and to give investors comfort, there must be consistency
in government policy. There must be ability, because nobody's coming to build those roads, build the power plants, generation distribution, pull the icity and articulated. Nobody's coming to warehouses unless they are comfortable that I'll not wake up tomorrow. And the entire free zone regime has changed. And so when you look at countries that may be run into trouble and all of a sudden you don't have access to a GOA, I've got grows an Opportunity Act.
So you go to set up in the.
Country and in the country. Funny things that America says you no longer for a goa. It was a platform ADI where you wanted to set up facility or access Europe and America.
Now you can access.
The investment winds down and people who stopped coming and the new ones that were planning to come on NOTT come right if you now play around with them.
Think last year, I'm not sure, yeah, go ahead.
Facts policy For instance, I said that if you if you know the freezone history until one hundred percent of what is produced to assembly in the Free Zone. Until that was permitted, there was only a certain amount of the reson in terms of pinions of dollars we have seen coming in the last twenty years. It's when there was a policy direction that made clear we are the largest market. If you are here, you will have access
to this absolute investment. If you take away, for instance, such a policy and you say no longer you cannot access the custom's territory or within tax exemption, that's what want to drive investment, that's what makes people nervous. And so for these stakes to do this, for federal to do this, for any country to do this, one of the most important tools is having a listening government that will provide a globally competitive regime and will provide consistency
and predictability. And that's where many Africa it's a national and federal fail. So it's just important to highlight that.
So in the end, really we have to come back to policy. We have to really come back to policy and say we have to have consistency in policy and all that believe that that's what we need, not just the instructure, but the policy. The governors and all that. Without that, you an'll know what topp Okay, just as the side I have a d M. So just asking like, is this expensive if I have a factory in say Catcher and all the counter I mean ballpark? Is this
expensive to be in this place? And if you can answer that, but Polko like this is too good to be true?
Is it? Like?
Is it is it expensive to move in here or to set up Nigia? What would it cost just ballpark? And if it's something you can answer, yeah.
Listen, you know I have my my my You said I'm the MD, but I still have my some this CA and I've been not to market.
Okay, yeah, I know I got you guys just talk about the schedule. But that's true. Yeah.
So what I will what I will say, please hop on our website.
What I will say is come out and visit us right in the Ley phrase or down the expressway.
It is not too good to be true.
It's just it's just good and it is groomy and it is something that we are very proud. We believe many people can benefit from. Now, what about price? Is the following for anybody that wants to set up a factory, seme,
a multinational national conglomerate or otherwise. I can evidence to anybody in any industry that the tax and beauty incentive, the savings, the benefits you will get from that is going to end up paying for your land such that when you look at your business as a growing concern over time, you're actually going to get that land for free because the tax builty incentive that you benefit from by being in a free zone talk less of the peace of mind and the easier operating environment.
Right is going to be greater. That benefit is going to be greater than the cost of land.
And I've done that for every one of the seventy seven clients and alysity today that industrial commercial clients, and it holds and so, yeah, is it cheaper to fly if you need something and you want to get the more valuable one on.
A four hour flight versus the two hour flight.
The four hour flights maybe more expensive than the two hour flight, but the value of what you pick when you learn four hours later is greater than the two hours.
And so you know, of course we cannot provide this for free. I wish we could, but but you know.
Come out and see us, come on what's the what's the website again? If you don't mind, just for folks of them.
Sure, So what I encourage everybody to do is check out two different websites. I want you to just because it's important to know the people behind the business. I want you to check out re endeavored dot com. That's the shareholder of a Laro City. It also will give you the the other seven industrial hubs we have and private cities we have across Africa with Enya where in Dr Congo, We're in Zambia, We're in Ghana, in Akran, in Takarate and with Nigeria in Legos Alaro City.
And we have something up and coming in a future.
But the website for Larcity simply a Larocity dot com www dot Larocity dot com A L A R.
O C I T Y dot com.
Gotcha. So I've got my co host Olumide. He's he's in the Nigerinant Captol market space also writes a lot of articles abroad because the co host is able to hop in here. Olim Day, I'm not sure when you joined, you've got the invite, But I've been learning about Alaro, learned about infrastructure in Nigeria set up plugging and play great p PP investment that is here in Nigeria. Esset to dive asify not just economy of Legos, Nigeria, West Africa.
We're building something here and folks are coming in and if you had in the comments on what you've heard and what you think she reach, we just go and quote these guys in the stock market and double niger stock market in one full Suppose you take Limdi.
Yeah, cal I actually joined in late, but I pretty want to be more like a new v here because it's not reading. My quest part is rest infrastructure. But there are three questions I want to ask the speaker the guest speaker. The first one, who are your target audience? Are you looking at the upper class? You're looking at investors? Are you looking at Jos and daspora? Secondly, current SERIESK how do you do returns from your previews your past performers?
Has return being? Then?
Lastly, how we should we be concerned about the potical climate? We have a new presidence in the world. Was pererfult economy as kickness here? Are you seeing any impact? These are things that so like means interested in interesting?
Yeah? I mean i'd have to make it about the American elections in America and you mentioned mister I go as due to expire blieve ten twenty five. Just blend that all in the what's your takes?
So thank you Carlo, Thank you do miday. I think the first question was on our target audience. You know, earlier in the call, I mentioned that we serve as a platform to attract FDI. So we want to find director investment and we are jurisdiction at Gnostic.
We want everybody to come in.
We want them to bring their technology, money, create jobs and to bring products and services and know how closer to the Nigerian market to make us more self sufficient and resilient. Right in addition to that, we want every type of Nigerian investor. We have an sme on claim I mentioned earlier. I believe we are still the only PHRAE zone in Nigeria in the history of Nigeria have bit dedicated sme on claim and I mentioned majority of jobs,
majority of them even to personal companies. Our SMEs and so SMEs should benefit from these incentives and they should be able to more efficiently export, They should be able to more efficiently import into the country to trade and or to assemble a manufacturer to service other countries. So we are for SMEs. Now, when we talk about housing, as you can imagine, a lot of the demand from the housing is from the employment that is created in and around the free zone. And so we have various
cares of housing. We have low density, high density, medium density. We have apartments where people can share, We have apartments for individuals.
We have stuff that is more intludent housing.
And then when we look at the people that we expect to come in, a lot of city is a city a community.
That is going to be anchored.
It is already anchored and increasingly will be anchored around arts, entertainment, sports, recreation. And so we have a sustainable sustendability pillar. We have fifteen percent of the project as designated for green and open spaces. We want people to be relaxed. We have sidewalks, we have cycling leans. We want people residents, we want
people customers. We want people guests to come in to benefit and enjoy at a lot of city, to watch sports, to watch art, to watch entertainment, to come in and visit, people to come in and live. And so you have to have the mindset that this is for everybody, right and you have to develop and plan in a way
that it is for everybody. When we talk about currencyies, like most free zones around the world, the operating currency in the Nigeria Free Zone regime is United States dollar, but for very practical reasons.
We transact in Nira. So we toalkedally about looking for dollar to go upload.
And buy something. You can buy in Nira from Nigerian
free zones, right. But because the operational currency is dollar, and because the free zone enterprises Nigeria by law regulation are prohibited from access in CBN, they are free to transact internationally and domestically in the open market right outside of the official channels, and so you can convert money, you can manage from a treasury function, your currency risk, you can easily repatriate capital as a foreign or as a domestic investor.
Who has presence outside.
And so movement of money and managing currency ries sincerely is linked to the operational currency of the fusal United States dollars. When you talk about the political climate in the US, it's very new, it's very and it's not within our control as Nigerians and people outside of the States. All indicators suggest that there's going to be some disruption with China, it might extend to Mexico, Vietnam from what
we're hearing. Interestingly, these are places, these are jurisdictions that a lot of international investors are looking at pivoting away from, or even companies in those countries are looking at expansion
to pivot away from their home jurisdiction. You will see there's a trend, for instance, more Chinese companies than others looking to set up in Africa for access to raw materials, lower and lower constant labor right and access to markets that maybe they will not have access to giving trade issues, and so the way I see it for Africa and Nigeria and Nigerian free zones, I think that there's going to be an opportunity for Nigerian business or Nigerian environment
to benefit from an increase in investment and business interest.
From around the world.
Giving some of the movements we're seeing, I think our GOA is very important. I think i go is very important because that proferential access to the US market is actually potentially going to be one of the drivers for people to come and set up a platform foreign direct investment in Nigeria with the sole or primary.
Purpose of access in the US or Europe.
But when we talk about other shifts, what I think we need to be very open about and proactive about it. I spoke about business process ousource and I talked about outsourced to Nigeria initiative. When we look at again the BPO sector, business process a source, when you look at cost of labor, when you look at English as the language of administration and a good accent that is internationally understood.
When you look at the feedback, particularly the customer service from call centers, the feedback on the customer service representatives who are based in Africa, the empathy levels, the ability to connect and empathize and manage clients, they get some of the highest ratings. So when we see reduced costs, with a good enable environment, infrastructure, utilities, icity, power, a young population, dynamic ambitions speaks the language of international business English.
It is only natural that the continuous movement you see how in BPO sector from major Western economies to India to other places Vietnam and Bangladesh, it is only natural that we are starting to see an increase in those companies setting up in Africa and I applaud the government alsours the NAGERA initiative.
We need to be deliberate.
The PPO industry is the eight point seven eight trillion dollar industry. Niger needs to have a big slip the way we knew India to be dominant in the BP of space. When you call from a credit card company, from an airline, you hear somebody. You suspect that India that needs to not become Nigeria because the costest is good here. We have the regime that allows for profitable engagement, right,
and so we need to attract like everybody else. We must be deliberate and intention and attract that investment here. We will create tens of thousands and then hundreds of thousands of jobs. And these are well paying jobs and therefore young people. You know how demographic is young. It's a large but a young population. These are jobs for young people.
Gotcha. So I've got a DM for you, right, film there has a full ADM for you. A guy is saying, Hey, I live and work here. My colleagues share the space with me, and he's right, I'm just trying to read it. I live and work here.
I like it.
It's very safe. I can work out any time I want, and it's very it's very sunny. The only thing I want is they could have a place where we could go and eat local food, like a restaurant or a food court or somewhere that we can just go out and meet other people that live in the city. But overall,
it's very safe and it's good. I don't think it's a Nigerian guy, right, So it's actually saying he likes the whole setup, it's very safe, good infra structure, but he wants me be food court or like more entertainment where he can go and meet other people. That's what I hear him saying, thank you for that.
I think it's a great piece of feedback.
We have a deep commitment to being client centric and to serving our customers, and.
It's because of feedback like that that we've been hearing that we have recently approved you know, three different restaurants. Spaces are being built. We have you know, recreation sport activity.
We have paddle courts, we have basketball, we have five a side football swimming pool, all of which have been approved and we've gone to ground and we have a gym that's been built there for people to meet, for people to exercise, for people to improve the quality of life. As I mentioned, we have cycling lanes and sidewalks, so we have working clubs, talgging clubs, cycling clubs already springing up. And the most important thing to mention is that you
know there's a sequence to these things. To build a nicest state in the middle of nowhere is achievable, and to make also achievable. But if you want to build a city, which is what we are doing, you need an economic pulse or heartbeat, and.
So actually deliberately do what it's been about five years now. We had to go all over the world.
This year, I've been to China, Fait every year, We're all over the place trying to bring business to Niger. And what we have to bring the investors who will bring the employment and when the employers are there, then what we need to do. We need to bring the housing so that people have a place to say and with tapping and reduce that housing deficit and then people are living there. We need a place for people to
go when they don't feel well. The healthcare which is on the horizon, very active discussions, watch.
That space, and then we need a place for people's children to go to school.
Then build it us all tomorrow and watch that space is becoming. And then we need a place for people to socialize, people to shop, people to eat. And so these are the projects that we are focusing on now. And the person who said the dam should watch that space out of them and they should watch that space.
Gotcha?
And I just want to go ahead, Yeah, I have interesting disposition.
Well the guest is actually brilliant, but I like his presentation and it seems to nows onions.
But you know, I just want to ask two questions and I want.
You to be a bit simple, because we need to understand that our space financial induices actually grew.
So the concern for risk, like risk, how safe? What are the risk? You know, we want to alot. I just want to know that.
Then how you need to cand be involved? You know, how need to can someone be take part? Because we need to understand food inflation.
Is three yeah, three decades. The standard of living is that one of the worst.
Points there ever disposably come very weak denied valuation has the is the power of so for people that are interested. This is because a lot of people you know who want to get in. But we're looking at this multi heavy doing. Can their paying plans? Are their strategies in which do income living containers can take part of its? Most importantly, you know, we want to know how safe. You know, we've had a lot of beyond people. The one problem we have.
Businesses and the enjoys continuity.
So a lot of people who want to ask you, what are the text to show that the business will stand the test of time, just like our jam box.
Let me do your question. Let me see and if you're here from the beginning, bullet go ahead, sir.
Yes, I just wanted to take that first one. I missed it.
I got the second one about getting involved, how to get involved?
The first question I had risk but I and then how safe? I just want to confirm. I'll be talking about physical safety, talking.
About the safety the flacial commitment, the safety of facial commitments.
So got it, but a hundre persent, understand, let me take that first. So you see the reason I gave two websites when I hope they was on. Then I was asked to provide the website for Alar City and rather provided two websites Rendeva dot Com, r E N D E A V O U R dot com and then Alaro City Alaro City A L A R O C I T.
Y dot com.
The reason I gave the Rendeva is because Rendeva is the majority ship in Allaro City.
Now, for those since.
There's a Nigerian platform, some of you may recall or no an investment bank called Renaissance Capital or rent Car.
We also know a consumer finance bank called rent Money. These are companies that we have founded.
Right the founder of Rendeva founded Renaissance Capital, founded rent Money, founded Rendebt. Now when you look at the rendeable website, you will get a sense for the people behind the business.
They are very successful.
It's a multinational, multi billion dollar value company that is the largest private not using government funds or grants and
not using debt. We don't have third party debt in the business, using share with our funds, long term patient capital from very successful, very deeply committed investors to create a platform that is today the largest private developer of cities, especially economic zones and a and so you know, these are people who are very well known in the international business community, who have done very well and have other businesses that are primary source of wealth and they have
used that to pursue this very novel platform in focus on targeting and.
Need a demand.
The Devil is not a sposity launched five years ago, but we secured the project Allowacity with the legal State government. Out of our seven projects was the seventh or seventh. So Rendeva has been around for a while and never has completed projects. You can go to Roma Park in Zambia and ask about them. We don't have to talk too much.
You can do research. You can see the profile of the people.
But there's completed projects, the substantially advanced projects, and you can also come to.
Allowescity what has been achieved in five years.
So when you have debt, particularly in Polatary, sometimes you end up doing what you have to do to stay alive and to pay your lender.
You make the wrong call. We don't have that pressure right.
Sometimes you start a business, you do it once, you do twice, then you fall off. Sometimes do it three times, four times. We have seven cities of Africa and all of them are places you can't see, you can't touch, You can't call people to go out and look. You can get videos and so you know that is on the risk if I got the question now, okay, then on how how little one can be involved. Yeah, these are big projects. But as I mentioned, this is something
we are doing to accommodate SME. This is something we are doing to accommodicate employees or companies. And we're also creating a platform to allow businesses and investors to set up to create employment opportunities for people to come in through employment and then to participate and grow in the city through that employment and sort of an employment.
But yes, a lot of.
City has payment plans. We have very attractive payment plans, multi year payment plans. A lot of city is working with Tier one banks in Nigeria to provide financing, attractive financings that make it easy for the banks to come in and to lend both to Nigerians at home and
in the diaspora. When we look at things like SEME, space and tech Analysity is ready to be very intentional about attracting and promoting actors in this space right because again that is where the majority of the employment is and can be including services. And so you know I mentioned earlier that this is something it's a piece of land that has been privately developed. Everything you see on the internet, everything you see when you go in real life, every single thing you see, it's probably a.
Couple of interesting I'm refring to let you go, sir. I have a gentleman saying he's from I don't mention the state, from a state. He'd like to organize the state Chamber of Commers to come over and visit. He will write you officially and that he wishes that can be approved. He wants to bring in his from the state to come and take a tour and to talk to you here. I don't really mention, but he'll send you a DM if you don't mind.
Yes, okay, that would be great.
Yeah, they want to come tour and see what you're doing. There a very important state in Nigeria. Don't want to come see what you guys are doing. That's fantastic. Yeah, great, Well, well on to all.
They are most welcome.
We look forward to hearing from them and maybe if Carlu, if you could drop them our email of the organizers from our side on this and the reason why I alluded earlier that I'm not very tech savy, I have loved and created an account for the first time in my life.
My life. I'm on Twitter and so I don't want to mess up by missing a DM or something like that. If you the email.
Organizers, yes, I will do that. Like and I you I actually coming for an hour. I think you've been You've been gradual with your time. Like I said, the whole discussion was to bring in Souna is actually doing the talk. I tell you that the bulk of the d ms are really about wow. Oh really, so one is saying we've been hearing a lot of most nationals living in Nigeria. I just googled what he said about Ariel and it's right there. Ariel is making this art
in Nigeria from this location that he mentioned. Why has no one said this before this space? Why is it that no one has talked about all this that the man is talking about before this space. Nigeria really needs to sell herself. That's from Bollandi. That's not DM here saying we need to see pictures of this Calu please put off pictures so people are really in I don't believe that, you know some Nigeria doesn't have a lot
of good stories. So when this is the very very good story, did this space, and that's the reason why you came in, sir, to tell people what is achievably in Nigeria. The same policy, same laws, same state government, same thing government. If you build it, people will come. It's not that impossible really.
In the end.
Everybody wants to make the you know, wants to do commas and I said direct high in with what you're doing here with commas, with jobs, with infrastructure, but you're talking about SMEs and all that. So it's a win win across the board. Even when you go internationally. You've mentioned Mexico, China clearly if you full international politics, Nigeria
and any other location. I'm reading Madagascar, reading all these countries that the Chinese are going to go there to skirt the tariffs that the US is going to impose it no matter how small. So it's a big opportunity for Nigeria right now. The Chinese can say, where can we go to or go to West Africa. These guys are there and we can set up something there in Nigeria to export to the Americas even to the EU. And you guys are doing it and most people have
not heard of this at all. And that's the reason why you came here just so n I just can see that, yes, this is happening, It's not all doomed. There's hope for the naira, there's hope for the economy, and we just have to get more of this. I mean more of this, not just the investment, but more of the partnerships, the rule of law, the policies. They can't do attitude. If we get more of it in Nigeria, then the country diversified, then stronger, more people I employed.
That's really the whole point. And I thank you for I'm going to come and speak so openly. Like you said, you have to become text savvy to come on the space. I appreciate that, sir, So thank you so much for being with us. If you have any remarks the closer, we would love to hear.
Well.
Carlo, I just want to again say thank you so much for having me. I heard in the context of setting this up so many great things about the show you and I am clear now that I have reliable sources around me, and so I just want to say that this kind of platform is so important. I wish you every success and I thank you for the opportunity I did that there were over two hundred people join.
We know that your time is valuable. I thank you for listening.
We referenced earlier about telling our stories. We need to tell our stories. And the truth is we are here, as Carlo said, in order to story, and we need to do more and be more proactive and intentional the story of the Nigerian opportunity. Indeed, there are challenges and indeed we're going through an interesting time, but we are resilient people. We are a large economy with a lot of potential, and I just want to encourage everybody to
be in the arena. We can comment, we can critique, we can advise, but aquires us to be in the arena. When we think about what prior regions have gone through during World wars, when countries were broken and rebuilt, When we look at the China experience, when we look at what India has gone through from worrying about how to feed its people becoming you know, on the brink of a superpower, superpower, and how you you you describe it.
I've just mentioned China and I've just mentioned and in twenty fifty Chapa and nigip the three largest populations in the world. What are we doing today to make sure that come twenty to fifty we have a much better started of living, a much better a much more diversive on an argum bidle class. How do we ensure political as social stability by joining employment levels are where they need to be. We can't just sit and wait, and we can't just pray.
We must act.
We must be in the arena, courage everybody that the privacycle has a big role to play, Government has a big role to play, but we need to place that in today.
And so again I thank you for the time, and I appreciate the opportunity.
Appreciate that. Thanks so much, guys. Again, it was going to be a shot. We normally were here for about three hours or so, you guys know, but I just felt, yeah, we have a guest. He might not have that bandwidth to spend. But I think we've gotten the point right, and I think everyone's going to be twitting and googling a Larro city to see what's going on there. Again, the point is we always say we do the spaces
to talk to your personal wallet. And you've heard him talk about SMEs, you've heard him talk about what they are doing. So The question for you is how can you tap in? If you have a company, tell your boss look at this. Let's look take a look at this place and see if we're going to go set up a store here. If you have a PvP that you are doing with your own friends, you guys want to set up something. Is this a place you guys can go set up? Do you think it's going to
be worldwhile this? To spend money here? Would you guys get that return on your investment about he said when you set up because of the costs that you don't pay, in effect, because you are in a place of got to the four seven power security, are able to do your job. If you then back out those costs, if you do the match, it might be free because you're not paying. You're not worrying about those added costs that you would get if you were, say outside the free
trade zone. So there's a lot going on here that if you can't do copy, if you can't copy, propagate, tell the good stuff about it, because I think it's just wonderful that we're doing this. If your state has got the money, they don't have to have a port, but they can also do exactly what's going on here, create a free trade zon, you know, allow the privacy
to come in to build investments. Don't be too want to go tax them, import export, low taxes, bringing the foreign folks in there, and then around that commer you would basically get what's gonna be to the state, to you to look at ben, to the federal and everyone is basically going to say this was a good deal. I like it and I've learned a lot today. Once the space goes down, I'm gonna go in and Google and do a lot more, and we're gonna bring in
more guys that can talk to us like this. So I appreciate mister Dyoluke coming in to talk to us about the city and what they are doing in Nigeria. Very very appreciative. Sorry, guys, weren't able to get most of you to speak, but I to get the DMS and I think it's all the same comments. We're all here to learn. I think we'll lend a lot today, So appreciate you guys. All right, thank you, so folks. I will see you guys next week. We're gonna be
here next week. Either we're gonna be talking about the V A T or we're gonna be talking about the tax policies, but we're gonna have We're gonna have discussion around one more economic topic as a year whin it's down lots happening in Nigeria as we say, and I think if we're were to get the policy about what we see this, the issue in Nigeria is not the tactics, it's the strategy, the policies, the building blocks. Once we can correct how the country is structured, the countries animal
spirits will automatically create wealth. Right now, Nigeria's animal spirits can create weld because of the structure the way the country is structured. If we can redirect and mix, like the river, once we can create a pathway for the river, it's one stream and it just flows. Right now, we have one river that's been broken into one billion pathway, so we have the same volume, but God is flowing
through many many pathways. There's no impact. If we can get that river flowing with the force and the impact, then it becomes significant all that tributree is coming that we have this big flowing river that's going to generate weld fish, you know, drinking water for everyone. If you mind, my this is not that frame of reference, but as the NAIA needs policies, good leadership and then things would happen on so so thanks folks, I'll see you guys
here next week. Thanks for hopping in here, Thank you so much for doing Thank you Lemine. You guys have a good rest of your weekend.
Then thank you.
You're welcome, sir,