Stakeholders in the public and private sectors have drawn attention to the importance of corporate philanthropy and impact investment in addressing the country’s many financial and developmental challenges as well as lack of productive jobs.
They said this at a webinar titled, ‘Stimulating Corporate Philanthropy and Impact Investing for Job Creation in Nigeria’ and hosted by the Nigeria Office for Philanthropy and Impact Investing (NPO), Impact Investors Foundation (IIF) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
NPO chairperson, Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke, said the insights from this webinar will be helpful for businesses seeking to be more effective in their giving, helping them create a structure around philanthropic initiatives.
Drawing from his extensive experience, keynote speaker and chairman, Odua Investment Company, Bimbo Ashiru, illustrated how the Odua Investment Foundation is bridging and creating a positive change through youth empowerment, healthcare and digital education for young Nigerians, to equip them with the skills needed for the future.
He emphasised the need for more organisations that are on the sidelines of philanthropic investments to sufficiently engage their immediate and extended communities to address critical societal challenges. He said impact investing has the potential to become a more integral and impactful instrument for building a more sustainable society. Both can improve national productivity one investment at a time, but more importantly, they can catalyst the long-term growth of the economy and job creation.
President and Chairman of Council, LCCI, Gabriel Idahosa, called for an alignment of corporate bodies’ philanthropic endeavours with strategic business objectives and the needs of local communities, to drive economic growth and corporate profitability.
CEO, IIF, Etemore Glover, set the context for the discussion by emphasising the need for inclusive investment and development. She said addressing these developmental issues demands investment and development that is inclusive, which often extends beyond the government’s capacity to provide and achieve alone. She added that makes it necessary to leverage the contributions corporate philanthropy can make to investment and development.
She further highlighted the strategic integration of philanthropy within the broader spectrum of impact capital, noting that when it is well blended into impact capital, it will yield better capital flows for the country.
