United Bank for Africa Plc has expressed its readiness to support the Japanese government’s effort in promoting Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Africa.
The Chairman, UBA Group, Mr Tony Elumelu, disclosed this on Monday, when the members of the Japan External Trade Organisation, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Hiroyuki Ishige, were hosted at a cocktail at the UBA House, in Lagos, Nigeria.
Elumelu noted that the deliberations had earlier begun in Davos, Switzerland, and that UBA and JETRO shared the same vision of transforming lives and building sustainable businesses and trade across the world.
He said, “When global leaders visit a country, they bring global attention. These investors who came from Davos have seen Nigeria as a business destination and have come to the country for the first time to visit us and see how things work here. The fact is that we all share the same passion to help transform lives and businesses around the world.”
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“We are aware of the various investments you have made recently to develop Africa and African businesses and this is what we also stand for at UBA, developing enterprises across the African continent. We believe that this visit will mark significant milestones and progress as we work towards empowering the youths and small and medium scale businesses.”
Citing the achievements of JETRO, Ishige noted that, through its domestic and overseas networks, the organisation has supported small and medium enterprises.
He explained that JETRO “cooperates with relevant organisations, local governments, among others, to provide services that match the needs of the company.
“As a company, the Japan Trade Organisation fully utilises domestic and overseas networks consisting of about 50 domestic bases, promotes investment, agriculture, forestry and fishery products.
“We will actively and efficiently work on exporting food products and on supporting overseas expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises, and contribute to Japanese corporate activities as well as trade policies through surveys and research,” Ishige added.