By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi
The Founder and Group Managing Director of CapitalSage Holdings, John Alamu, has advocated accelerated investment in agricultural industrialisation and value addition as the cornerstone of Ondo State’s long-term economic transformation.
Alamu made the call at the just concluded Ondo Investment Summit 2026 themed “The New Ondo: Forging the Pathway to Prosperity,” where he urged policymakers and investors to prioritise large-scale processing, manufacturing and integrated value chain development as the foundation for sustainable growth.
Speaking at the summit held at the International Culture and Events Centre (The Dome), Akure, he said, while Ondo State possesses the agricultural depth, strategic location and human capital required to emerge as a leading industrial hub, real prosperity will be defined by the scale of investment dedicated to converting raw agricultural output into higher-value finished products.
He described value addition as the principal driver of sustainable transformation, arguing that it boosts economic output, creates skilled employment, retains wealth within the state and enhances Nigeria’s participation in global value chains.
Drawing from his experience in reviving distressed industrial assets, Alamu noted that large-scale agro-processing is not merely theoretical but practical and scalable.
Through Johnvents Group, a global value chain participant and agro-processing subsidiary of CapitalSage Holdings, he said previously moribund factories have been repositioned into productive manufacturing centres.
He explained that what began as a single distressed cocoa facility in Akure has expanded into a network of ten factories across four major towns in Ondo State.
The facilities include an 18,000-metric-tonne cocoa processing plant in Akure, a 30,000-metric-tonne Premium Cocoa Products factory in Ile-Oluji, and the Noble-Eagle Industrial Complex in Idanre and Owo, producing cocoa derivatives, edible oils, seasoning cubes, beverages and animal feed for domestic and export markets.
Alamu disclosed that Johnvents Group currently provides direct and indirect employment for over 3,000 people, integrates more than 20,000 farmers into structured supply chains and supports over 10,000 students through educational, vocational and sports initiatives.
He stressed that the next phase of economic expansion in the state would require greater processing capacity, infrastructure upgrades and stronger collaboration between government and private capital.
“What is required now is scale, greater processing capacity, stronger infrastructure and sustained collaboration between government and private capital,” he said, adding that reliable power supply, regulatory clarity and predictable policy frameworks remain critical to accelerating industrial growth.
“When the government reduces friction and private capital moves decisively, transformation accelerates,” Alamu stated, maintaining that agro-industrial scale would ultimately define the emergence of a “new Ondo” anchored on productivity, value creation and global competitiveness.
