CHRIS BAYWOOD IBE ADVISES AFRICAN LEADERS ON INTRA-TRADE FACILITATION

Emperor Chris Baywood Ibe

A world-class Quantity Surveyor, industrialist, international contractor and Chief Executive Officer of Baywood Group of Companies, Emperor Chris Baywood Ibe, has urged African leaders and governments to empower entrepreneurs with a view to facilitating intra-trade relations among countries capable of growing the economies of the continent appreciably.

Emperor Ibe, a native of Isu-Awaa in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State,  gave this advice while presenting a paper, entitled: “Intra-Africa trade: The key to unlocking Africa’s trade potentialities,” at the 2015 UK-Uganda Trade and Investment Convention held in London recently.

Tectono Business Review gathered that the event was jointly organised by the Ugandan Convention and Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and was said to be the largest Ugandan-focused trade and investment forum in Europe, attracting many African investors in the Diaspora as well as government officials especially from Uganda and United Kingdom.

Emperor Ibe, a lone West African businessman who presented a paper at the forum, said that it was only strong socio-economic and fiscal policies that could help African entrepreneurs competing favourably with their counterparts from other continents.

According to him, African governments would need to establish attractive tax regimes, eliminate barriers to inflow and outflow of African-owned investment, develop requisite manpower as well as review import policies to favour local businesses, among other investment imperatives.

While noting that Africa has human and material resources that are capable to sustain the world economy, Emperor Ibe stressed that about 60 per cent of world’s resources lies on the continent and pointed out that African had become a desirable destination for all manner of multi-national corporations to do business in virtually all sectors of the economy.

He added: “We must therefore as Africans arise and take our destinies in our own hands as President Barak Obama of US had pointed out recently during his visit to Kenya that African development lies on the continent. So, we have to encourage regional trade, construct Pan-Africa highways, remove restrictions that hinder intra-African trade, promote peace and harmony for the economies of various countries on the continent to flourish.”

In his remarks, the Chairman of the convention, Mr. Willy Mutenza, commended Emperor Ibe’s presentation while describing him as an iconic entrepreneur with an accomplished track record of excellence in Africa.