PHCCIMA, Others To Partner Ministry On Co-Operative, Business Dev

President of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Sir Mike Elechi and other stakeholders in the organised private sector have indicated their preparedness to partner with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to grow and develop co-operatives in the State.
The President, who was represented by one of his Directors, Prince Charles Bekee, made this known during the 2022 International Day of Co-operatives organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Co-operative Federation in Port Harcourt recently.
Bekee reiterated that PHCCIMA’s move for partnership is to grow the businesses of co-operative members to international level, saying that, “this would help Nigeria to move out from poverty that we have found ourselves”.
He encouraged co-operatives to continue  with their saving culture which makes businesses to achieve maturity that contribute to economic growth.
In his presentation, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Co-operative Development Centre, Port Harcourt, Mr Franklin Obadiah, said “the Entrepreneur as a creative, innovative and visionary industrial rebel with a course, will always refuse to be distracted, but through his/her entrepreneurship disposition, identifies, develop and efectively manage the enterprise  protabily”.
Obadiah noted that entrepreneurs  generate employment, create wealth, reduce poverty and impact the operating environment, as the  co-operatives.
Speaking on the topic, “Entrepreneurship; A  Veritable Tool for Co-operatives Sustainable Practical Economic Empowerment”, Obadiah stated the need for partnership among the co-operatives, agencies and other stakeholders.
“Good entrepreneurs must be self motivated, task and result -oriented, caculated risk-taker, ideas generator, creative and innovative, among other qualities”, he said.
The CEO said the theme of the year, “Co-operatives build a better World”, is timely  and geared towards repositioning our co-operatives and empower them entrepreneurially.
“Without the entrepreneurial spirit and mind-set, co-operatives cannot build a better world, neither can they make any impact in their environment.
”I want to also use this privilege to plead with you to join or form a cooperative today, in order to move your business to the next level, because of the numerous opportunities, synergy and professional guide in the co-operative structure”, he said.
The President and CEO of iEBS Matrixx Cooperative and Credit Society, Ambassador Larry Goodwill Ajiola, in an interview with The Tide shortly after the programme, said Co-operatives are the back bone of the economy of any society.

He noted that if the co-operatives are well empowered, the economy of Nigeria would not have any such problem in employment generation to internally generated revenue.

Ajiola also stressed the need for stakeholders in the industry to take a cue from other countries that have built their Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Co-operatives to drive their economy, adding that, “Nigerian economy will be the one to benefit”.

By: Lilian Peters