The 5th Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit was hosted in Aso Rock Villa over the last couple of days. The event was largely sponsored by Ondo state – my state of origin. I was highly impressed by the multiple pitches that were made to investors to support economic activity in the state. Hence, I would like to highlight some of the investment opportunities in Ondo state, Nigeria currently.
Where is Ondo State?
Ondo State is in the South Western revision of Nigeria. The “Sunshine State” is in Yorubaland and its coast is by the Atlantic Ocean.
What are the economic features of Ondo State?
- The largest producer of cocoa in Nigeria (92,000 MT/year) – 40% of Nigeria’s production
- 180 km Atlantic coastline, which has numerous fishery communities – The entire Dubai has a total of 70km of beachfront
- Functional passenger and cargo airport – Akure airport saw its passenger traffic rise by 240.41% in 2021. A notable factor that was responsible for increased activity at the airport is the opening up of Ondo State’s economy for businesses.
- Transit route to the North and Eastern parts of Nigeria – this is beneficial for trade and access to the upcoming seaport
- Navigable waterways – connection to Lagos ports. Some people ride bikes across the shoreline from Ondo to Lagos!
- Over 150,000 ha of fertile agricultural land
- Ondo state has considerable capacity to produce many cash crops: Forestry, Cassava, Oil Palm, Fishery, Rubber, Cashew, Sugarcane
- Home to 8 recognised universities
What are some major achievements Ondo state has had in the past few years?
- 1st in 2020 fiscal transparency rating
- 2nd in Budget Transparency Index 2020
- 8th of 36 in the Ease of Doing Business ranking
- Governor of the Year Award 2020
Agricultural opportunities in Ondo State
Ondo state has made it clear that they are focused on value addition. They want to move away from sheerly exporting raw materials. There is an opportunity for agricultural value addition in the following ways:
- Packaged rice, soya, plantains and cotton
- Mechanised farming machinery
- Cashew nuts processing
- Rubber Plantations and products
- Particle boards
- Afforestation
- Cocoa can be processed into chocolate, butter, cake, powder, beverages, wine
- Cassava can be processed into flour, cookies, noodles, crackers, chips, ethanol, industrial starch, bio-plastics and animal feeds
- Sugar cane can be processed into refined sugar, alcohol and bio-fuel
- Oil palm can be processed into vegetable oil, and kernel oil. cosmetics, animal feeds
Animal Husbandry opportunities in Ondo State
Ondo state is well-endowed with animals and has the ability to create animal-derived products.
- Large-scale aquaculture ponds
- Fish/shrimp packaging
- Hides and skin for the leather industry
- Poultry birds exports
- Ranching: 4,000ha available possible
- Fishery: Ample water bodies for aquaculture, trawler terminals shrimps, cold storage facilities
- Dairy: Milk and Dairy products
- Poultry: Chicken, egg products, feeds
Mining opportunities in Ondo State
Ondo state is open to processing base minerals to products such as ceramic, glass, electrical insulators etc.
- Limestone can be processed for cement production
- Coal and Iron for ore exploration
- Bitumen exploitation – in fact, it has the second-largest deposit in the world.
- Hi-Purity Silica Sand (29.6 x 10 MT) can be processed for float glass production, water purification, synthetic foundry moulding catalysts and disodium ultramarine
- Granite (> 100 million MT): used for dimension stone cutting and polishing, table tops
- Kaolin (1,040 Million MT): Ceramic tiles, refractory products
- Bulk clay (49.1 Million MT): Porcelains, electrical insulators, pottery, ceramics and brick
- Gypsum can be used for chalk, fertiliser, ornaments, cosmetics, water purification
- Columbite
- Tin
- Gemstones
- and more
Tourism opportunities in Ondo State
Idanre Hills
I went to this beautiful mountainous area and covered it in a previous blog post. It is the home to the Idanre inselberg hills, playing host to the highest geographical point in the western half of Nigeria at higher than 1,000 Meters in elevation. Ondo State is now looking for funds to do numerous site enhancements that include a cable car, funicular accommodations and more.
Ondo Auto Rally
Work and Play are the groups that organises the annual Ondo Auto Rally, which is a multi-car event that has become a top tourism programme on the calendar of the state. More than 60 racers from different racing clubs across the country signed up to be part of the last event.
The winners of the races will win cash prizes, while other activities like drifting, Treasure hunt and Archery have all been included to keep guests and friends entertained on the sideline.
Smokin Hills Golf Resort
Located outside the university town of Ilara-Mokin, close to the Ondo state capital of Akure, the Smokin Hills Golf Resort was developed by one of the nation’s top businessmen, Chief Michael Ade Ojo, the founder of Elizade Toyota Nigeria.
American architect Ron Garl was tasked with routing the fairways of this private facility around a formerly wooded, 140-acre landscape, where a practice area, driving range and par three courses complement the main 18-hole layout. This par three is worth waiting for because it demands a full carry across the water to an island green, a challenge that’s reminiscent of the 17th at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course.
Araromi Sea Front
is a gorgeous clean, sandy beach that has considerable hotel development potential. A Recreation Center is also present in Igbokoda.
Infrastructural strengths of Ondo State
- Lagos to Ondo is a 37km road journey: It Takes around 4-5 hours by road from Lagos Island to Akure
- Port Ondo (Deep Sea Port): This is under development and is primed to complement Lagos ports. It’s a 16m draft Sea Port that is due to be completed in 2023. The port is estimated to cost $2bn and will connect to the shore via a 2km bridge of both road and rail.
- Ondo Industrial Park is also in the works. It’s a Public-Private Partnership between the Ondo State Government and Hessmac Industry Limited, which is established on a massive 1000 hectares of eco-friendly, economic and industrially zoned land. There are about six companies that are currently on the ground running (Allecharis gas, Sulmont Solar, ASB, ATC Globalwide, Euro O&G Continental Ltd etc.)
If you’re interested in more information on the developments happening in Ondo State, then head over to www.ondipa.org, let’s Invest, Connect and Transform Nigeria together.
