By Godwin Oritse

AS world business leaders gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark to rub minds on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Managing Director of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics base (LADOL), Dr. Amy Jadesimi, has called for sustained capacity building by investors. This, according to her, is in order to adequately service a   $200 billion growth market opportunities in West Africa.

The event organised by Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) which took place in Copenhagen, Demark , also saw others speak on how to achieve greener global transformation. Jadesimi who was one of the two prominent Nigerians at the event, focused on the need to proliferate a new social contract. She said: “International banks and investors need to re-define bank ability to enable them to participate in the highly lucrative opportunities for investment around the world.”

This, according to her, “will also help to sustainably and more rapidly achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” for Nigeria and West Africa in which she put the largely untapped growth market potentials at $ 200 billion. She said her organisation has since keyed into the goals mantra hence it is poised to creating no less than 50,000 jobs in the nearest future through her private investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Jadesimi also featured in a press conference with the Danish Foreign Minister, Kristian Jensen, where she was specifically asked to discuss her role on the Global Commission of Sustainable Development, with reference to how LADOL has so far fared as a prime example of a new economy sustainable company.

In her intervention, she revealed that: “SDGs have been part of LADOL’s DNA for a decade, our success comes from the fact that we private invested in building capacity to service a clearly defined and drastically underserved US$ 200 billion market in West Africa.

“SME’s (Small and Medium Enterprises) and other companies in high growth markets need to do their part to attract investment by being FCPA compliant and better quantifying the private sector opportunities they have identified.

“Respecting and empowering local communities and civil societies is one of the first things investors should do to identify and tap into these opportunities – even the poorest people in the world will invest in healthcare and education given the option.   In many cases, they are paying for these things already. The role of government and NGO’s is to facilitate and define opportunities, the role of private sector is to execute and sustain.

“Over the last ten years, LADOL was developed in line with the SDGs, even before their existence, we proved that private sector can derive significant profits while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by pursuing opportunities in growth markets like Nigeria and West Africa,” she added.

Other panelists who featured at the session were,Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Lokke Rasmussen; Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam, Mr. Tran Hong Ha and the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, among others.