Business
Made-in-Plateau Carnival Debuts as GIZ Pushes Green, Circular Economy for 6,000 MSMEs
The Made-in-Plateau Business Carnival entered its second day on Wednesday with massive turnout at the Solomon Lar Amusement Park, Jos, as thousands of residents trooped in to patronize locally made products sold at highly subsidised festive-season prices.
The five-day event, which runs from December 2–6, is themed “Strengthening the Plateau MSMEs Ecosystem through Synergies and Eco-smart Entrepreneurship.”
Organised in partnership with the Plateau State Government, GIZ, SMEDAN, PLASMIDA, the University of Jos, Plateau State Polytechnic, and several regulatory and financial institutions, the carnival features a one-stop marketplace, exhibitions, trainings, and—for the first time ever on the Plateau—a Made-in-Plateau Deal Room where MSMEs pitch directly to investors.
GIZ: ‘We Have Trained 6,000 MSMEs on Green and Circular Economy’
Speaking at the carnival, Manbyen Daki, Business Development Service Expert for GIZ Plateau State, said the initiative marks a new phase in the state’s MSME development.
“We have trained over 6,000 MSMEs in Plateau to change their mindset from the traditional way of doing business to incorporating the green and circular economy,” she said.
Daki explained that the carnival brings together entrepreneurs, financial institutions and regulatory agencies such as NAFDAC, SON and CAC to create seamless access to markets, business registration and funding at subsidised rates.
She described the newly introduced Deal Room as a major innovation:
“This has never happened before—a deal room where angel investors, impact investors and MSMEs sit together. Entrepreneurs pitch, investors feel the fabrics, taste the coffee, see prototypes, and decide on-the-spot who to support. This is Made-in-Plateau 1.0.”
She added that GIZ’s core work is capacity building, job creation and ensuring that the MSME ecosystem on the Plateau becomes strong enough to scale beyond state borders.
Entrepreneurs Showcase Innovation, Culture and Circular Creativity
The carnival also featured a rich display of products, including food items, skincare, organic products, indigenous fabrics, small chops, artworks, and crafts made from everyday waste.
Kim’s Coffee — Pitching for Scale-Up
Dung Davidai, Co-founder of Kim’s Coffee Nigeria Ltd, said the event provides a rare opportunity for small businesses to access real investors.
“It’s my first pitching experience, but it’s a learning curve. Opportunities like these don’t come every day, so I’m here to showcase what we do and how we plan to scale,” he said.
Atili Crafts — Turning a Plateau Treasure Into Wealth
Mrs. Kunna Eframe showcased her unique line of crafts made from Atili seeds, which are commonly found across Plateau communities.
She explained that her team converts the seeds—often left to waste on the ground—into jewelry, jackets symbolizing bravery, cultural instruments, and key holders, representing multiple Plateau tribes.
“Every Plateau tribe uses this instrument. We added colour and design to make it more attractive and culturally expressive,” she said.
Agro-Processing and Natural Products
Agro-processor Alan Prince displayed food products such as amora, sesame, honey, and other processed foods, alongside natural skincare and cleaning products produced by his partner.
He commended the turnout and the support from government and partners.
“Sales have been encouraging for the season. We thank the governor and all agencies that made this program possible,” he said.
Waste-to-Wealth Arts by Enara Works
Stella Enara-Joseph, a lawyer and founder of Enara Works and Designs, showcased a wide range of recycled art pieces.
From photo frames made of broken necklaces, to masks made from raffia, wood scraps, kitchen waste, and bottle covers, her work highlights environmental sustainability.
“Everything we make is from waste. Instead of burning waste and harming the environment, we upgrade it into beautiful home items and artwork,” she explained.
A One-Stop Festival of Creativity and Affordable Shopping
Visitors at the carnival enjoyed access to diverse indigenous products at discounted prices, making shopping easier ahead of the December festivities.
Financial institutions offered MSME-friendly loan packages, while regulators provided on-site business registration and certification at subsidised rates.
The carnival continues until December 6, with organisers assuring the public that even bigger exhibitions, pitching sessions and sales await.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has revealed how entrenched interests benefiting from Nigeria’s fuel import and subsidy regime tried to frustrate the construction of his $20 billion refinery, describing them as a powerful “mafia” determined to preserve a lucrative subsidy system.
Mr Dangote said the resistance came from traders, shippers and local beneficiaries of Nigeria’s long-running petrol subsidy arrangement who saw the refinery as a threat to billions of naira in profits.
Speaking in an interview with Nicolai Tangen, chief executive officer of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, he said these interests worked to delay access to project land and frustrate the refinery’s take-off.
“All this would have been blocked by what you call the mafia in oil business to make sure that we don’t come and address these issues,” he said.
He said securing land to build his world-class refinery took five years, with one site delayed for three and a half years and another for one and a half years, as vested interests sought to stop the project.
“But we were not deterred at all. We were actually focused. We knew what we were doing,” he added.
Mr Dangote explained that for decades Nigeria spent huge sums importing refined petroleum products despite being a major crude producer, creating a system that enriched a few players at the expense of the wider economy.
He said subsidy payments alone reached nearly $10 billion annually.
“The people who were actually benefiting because Nigeria was giving almost about $10 billion every year as subsidy… there are shippers who are making tonnes of money, there are traders who are making tonnes of money,” he said.
He added that a small group also profited from local product allocations under the subsidy regime.
“So these are the people that are not agreeing for us to settle down because they believe that no, we are coming here to displace them. Of course, that’s what we have done now,” he said.
The refinery, which required the construction of an entirely new port, roads and water infrastructure, employed 67,000 people during construction, the African billionaire said.
Mr Dangote said the project became far larger and more difficult than initially imagined, but abandoning it was never an option.
READ ALSO: Dangote rejects NNPC’s bid for bigger refinery stake, pushes for wider ownership
“When you get to the middle of the ocean, you realise that the tide was bad. When you go forward, it’s bad. When you go backwards, it’s bad. So you have to work forward,” he said, using the analogy to paint a broader picture of the difficulties he encountered while building the refinery.
He said the refinery has now changed the market structure and significantly reduced the influence of those who depended on imports and subsidy payments.
The plant currently sources over half of its crude from Nigeria while also importing from Angola, Libya and the United States.
“We source about 56 per cent from Nigeria and some from Angola. We buy quite a bit from Angola, we buy from Libya, and we buy from the US. At one point, we were doing about seven to eight cargoes of WTI from the US. But we’re getting more of Nigeria’s crude now, he said.
Mr Dangote explained that the refinery is currently buying 21 cargoes every month in Nigeria. “That’s how big we are,” he added, stating that they are more than doubling the refinery.
“You know, in the next 30 months, we will be at 1.4 million barrels per day, which is huge,” he noted.
BY NECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The Securities and Exchange Commission has said it is placing artificial intelligence, data analytics and technology-driven regulation at the centre of Nigeria’s capital market reforms to attract both local and foreign investments.
Speaking at the FSDH Investor Conference 2026 in Lagos, the Director-General of the SEC, Emomotimi Agama, said the future of global investing would increasingly depend on the quality of intelligence, data and technology supporting investment decisions rather than the size of capital alone.
According to him, the era of “intelligent investing” has already arrived, driven by artificial intelligence, real-time analytics, distributed ledger technology and algorithmic systems that are reshaping how investments are priced, allocated and protected globally.
He said, “We are at the threshold of what scholars and practitioners are calling the era of intelligent investing — a paradigm in which data does not merely inform decisions, but actively participates in them.”
Agama noted that the SEC had embarked on what he described as the most comprehensive regulatory reform agenda in its history to ensure Nigeria remains competitive in the evolving global investment environment.
He explained that the Commission’s reforms were aimed at creating a forward-looking market structure capable of supporting intelligent investing through faster settlement systems, tokenised securities and deeper derivatives markets.
According to him, the Commission’s seven-pillar capital market infrastructure vision includes plans to achieve T+1 settlement cycles, expand digital assets regulation and build a comprehensive framework for tokenised securities.
The SEC boss said the Commission was also developing governance frameworks for artificial intelligence applications in the capital market to ensure transparency, accountability and investor confidence.
“We are developing AI governance frameworks for capital market participants — frameworks that demand explainability, accountability and algorithmic fairness. An investor in Nigeria deserves to know not only what decisions were made on their behalf, but how those decisions were reached,” he said.
Agama stated that intelligent investing must be inclusive and accessible to ordinary Nigerians, adding that the SEC’s fintech-bank integration strategy targets about 20 million retail investors across the country.
He said technology and data-driven investing tools could democratise access to wealth creation opportunities for small businesses, artisans and low-income earners who had previously been excluded from formal investment systems.
The SEC DG also stressed the importance of collaboration between regulators, financial institutions, fintech firms and investors in building a resilient and technology-driven market ecosystem.
According to him, Nigeria’s capital market reforms and adoption of intelligent investing frameworks would strengthen investor confidence, improve market transparency and position the country as a leading investment destination in Africa.
He added that the Commission was strengthening investor protection through enhanced enforcement mechanisms, financial literacy programmes and the establishment of a dedicated Investor Protection Department.
Agama said, “Confidence is the ultimate asset in a capital market. Every disclosure we enforce, every fraud we prosecute, every investor we educate adds to the stock of market confidence.”
He further noted that Nigeria’s growing role in African capital market integration and digital finance initiatives would help channel long-term investments into infrastructure, gender finance and other critical sectors of the economy.
The SEC DG commended FSDH Merchant Bank for creating a platform for stakeholders to discuss the future of intelligent investing, adding that collaboration and data-sharing among market participants would be critical to building globally competitive financial markets in Nigeria.
The post SEC positions AI, data-driven regulation to attract investments appeared first on Business Today NG.
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