Innoson Group Targets 7,000 Jobs

By Dipo Olowookere

Nigerian car manufacturing firm, Innoson Group, has entered into a partnership deal with a Chinese consortium to invest about $1 billion in the information and technology sector. The deal is expected to provide about 7,000 jobs for the youths.

A part of the partnership is a $400 million investment in Nigeria’s DSO project Digital Satellite TV Station and an additional $600 million covering other important sectors.

In a statement to newsmen by the spokesman of Innoson Group, Mr Cornel Osigwe, it was disclosed that the multi-billion investment deal will bring about production of Broadcast Digital Set-Top-Boxes.

Mr Osigwe also disclosed that the consortium of Chinese Foreign Investment Group will be received on Monday (tomorrow) by the Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo.

He said the consortium would be led by Liu Baoju, a Deputy Minister of Communist Party of China in Shandong Province, who is equally the Chairman of Shandong Broadcasting Group and Shandong Cable Interactive Service Ltd, the world’s biggest TV operators and Huang Gang, Senior Vice President of Inspur Group and President of its Overseas Headquarters.

Mr Osigwe gave the analysis of the investment deal as:

2017. Financial foreign investment credit facility of $300million USD for local production and supply of a minimum five to eight Million (5-8million) Set-Top Boxes to support the Federal Government of Nigeria Digital Switch Over (DSO) project being handled by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission in order to meet the deadline switch of June 2017.
2018. Financial foreign investment of $100million USD to establish the latest technology and biggest DTH (Direct-To-Home) Digital BING Television Station across all states of Nigeria.

In addition, the above two immediate investments are being followed by another $600 million USD investment in which negotiations is almost fully concluded with our strategic partners to cover the following areas of Nigerian economy:

1. Smart City (CCTV camera) using cloud computing total solution that is known as E-Policing to cover the whole landmass of Nigeria.
2. Cloud Computing Total Solution on Taxation with IT applications for such institutions as Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other taxation agencies for seamless and stress-free tax collection mechanism.
3. E-Education IT Solutions with big data centres for all Federal Universities and Polytechnics in the country

It is also interesting to note that the Nigerian company bringing in and partnering with these foreign investors is the Innoson Group, Nigeria’s first indigenous and largest local manufacturer of automobiles and the largest plastic-processing manufacturer in West Africa.

The company as a trailblazer has decided to be part of history as one of the companies that will take Nigeria into the digital world. In order to keep up with its trend of opening new grounds, it has decided to diversify into Information Technology (IT) and the Multi Media Sector with the plan to launch a Satellite Digital TV operation and other services in partnership with Shandong Broadcasting Group and Shandong Cable Interactive Service Ltd China with technical support from Inspur Group Co Ltd, China.

This foreign investment is coming at a time when Nigeria is in dire need of foreign investors to boost the economy. The focus point of the investment will go a long way to boost the economy of Nigeria with the following as attendant benefits:

1. Assist the Federal Government to meet its June 2017 deadline for the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting services.
2. Establishment of 40 lines of production and manufacturing complex for making Broadcast Digital Set-Top-Boxes, the biggest of its kind in the whole of Africa.

iii. Job creation of over 5,000 jobs in the Innoson Group Set-Top-Box manufacturing complex in Nigeria within the next two years.

1. Job creation of about 2,000 jobs by Innoson BING Digital DTH Television operation across Nigeria with the first two years.
2. Nigeria will become the manufacturing hub for Set-Top-Box in Africa with the attendant benefit of earning foreign exchange through exports from Innoson Manufacturing Complex.
3. Innoson Group would put into use its biggest plastic industry at Enugu by locally manufacturing most of the plastic components of the Set-Top-Box thereby saving cost.

vii. Another important benefit is that BING TV Project will engage the almost under-utilised Nigerian Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) situated at Obasanjo Space Centre in Abuja with its numerous benefits of saving foreign exchange by buying into Nigeria available goods and services, instead of engaging foreign satellite and transponders as all our other competitors here in Nigeria are currently doing.

viii. Providing adequate National security using cloud computing technology to secure our country against insurgency, militancy, kidnapping and all other forms of dangerous crimes.