The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), in collaboration with the Nigeria Philanthropy Office (NPO), has identified job creation as a tool to address the economic challenges facing the country.
This was revealed during a webinar on Tuesday, titled ‘Stimulating Corporate Philanthropy and Impact Investing for Job Creation in Nigeria,’ hosted by the NPO, in partnership with the Impact Investors Foundation and the LCCI.
LCCI Director-General, Chinyere Almona, stated that the chamber is willing to collaborate with the NPO to encourage more member organisations to invest in people and their communities.
“The LCCI has four pillars of reference for impact investing,” Almona said. “At the macro level, the chamber organises workshops, seminars, examines case studies, and shares success stories. The legal pillar encourages a legal framework for organisations and the legislation of other guidelines.”
She noted that at the intermediary pillar, the LCCI would work with companies as philanthropy consultants and impact investing advisors. “For the firm-level pillar, LCCI will offer training programmes for employees and improve corporate culture and values in member organisations.”
Speaking on bridging the developmental gap in the country, the keynote speaker and Chairman of Odua Investment Company, Bimbo Ashiru, illustrated how the Odua Investment Foundation is creating positive change through youth empowerment, healthcare, and digital education for young children, equipping them with the skills they need for the future.
He urged organisations to go beyond philanthropy and engage their communities to address critical social challenges. “Corporate philanthropy and impact investing have the potential to become more integral and impactful instruments for building a more sustainable society. Both can improve national productivity one investment at a time, but more importantly, they can catalyse the long-term growth of the economy and job creation.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Impact Investors Foundation, Etemore Glover, said addressing Nigeria’s developmental issues demands inclusive investment and development. “It is beyond the capacity of governments to provide and achieve such development alone. This makes it necessary to leverage the contributions corporate philanthropy can make to investment and development in Nigeria.”
Glover highlighted the strategic integration of philanthropy within the broader spectrum of impact capital, noting, “Philanthropy is one of the spectrums of impact capital, and when it is well blended into impact capital, it will yield better capital flows for Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Nigeria Office for Philanthropy and Impact Investing, Thelma Ekiyor-Solanke, said the event was an opportunity to share best practices on the role corporate philanthropy and impact investing play in driving positive societal change.
She assured, “The NPO, a private-led coordinating office operating in the Office of the Vice President, and its partners are committed to promoting corporate philanthropy and impact investing to create a more inclusive and prosperous society for all.”