Forum of State Investment Promotion Agencies

29/07/2026

and Move to Deepen Subnational Investment Delivery

Nigeria’s investment ambitions will only be realised when States can convert policy reforms and economic opportunities into investable projects, productive enterprises, jobs and public revenue.

This was the central message during a strategic engagement between the Forum of State Investment Promotion Agencies , and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, .

The delegation was led by the Chairman, Dr Terhemen Johnpaul Kpenkaan, who presented the Forum’s perspective on the role of State Investment Promotion Agencies, such as Benue Investment Promotion Agency, in supporting Nigeria’s aspiration to build a US$1 trillion economy.

His presentation focused on three priorities:

1️⃣ strengthening State IPAs as credible investment delivery institutions;

2️⃣ improving project preparation and private capital mobilisation; and

3️⃣ creating a stronger bridge between national policy, private-sector insight and subnational ex*****on.

He also highlighted ’s emerging delivery architecture: the Baseline Study provides the evidence for targeted reform; the Digital Transformation Plan strengthens coordination and investment intelligence; the Political Economy of Investment Attraction initiative builds political ownership and accountability; while SIPS-NG is designed to connect prepared State-level projects to investors and capital providers.

NESG expressed strong interest in working with to accelerate investment attraction and support investment-led economic development across Nigeria’s States.

Both institutions agreed to establish a Joint Task Team to develop a practical partnership workplan covering research, institutional strengthening, public-private dialogue, investment intelligence, project preparation and investor engagement.

The engagement also reflected the complementary strengths of both institutions. brings State reach, implementation insight and access to subnational project pipelines. brings economic policy expertise, organised private-sector networks, research capacity and a strong platform for public-private dialogue.

At the close of the meeting, Dr Kpenkaan presented copies of the 2025 Annual Report and the Forum’s institutional brochure to . In return, presented with the National Interest Coffee Book 2025, reinforcing a shared commitment to knowledge exchange and evidence-based economic reform.

The next step is to convert this strategic alignment into joint programmes that improve the investor journey, strengthen State competitiveness and accelerate private capital mobilisation across Nigeria.

24/07/2026

08/07/2026

Across Nigerian States, Governors face difficult choices every day.

Salaries. Schools. Hospitals. Security. Water. Infrastructure. Social services.

All are urgent. All require funding. Yet public resources remain limited.

This was the context of the presentation delivered by the Chairman of the Forum of State Investment Promotion Agencies of Nigeria (FoSIPAN), Dr Terhemen Johnpaul Kpenkaan, who also serves as Executive Secretary/CEO of the Benue Investment Promotion Agency (BENIPA), at the Nigeria–Ethiopia Experience Exchange on Integrated National Financing Framework implementation in Abuja.

Speaking during the session on Private Finance, Blended Finance and Capital Markets, Dr Kpenkaan made a clear point:

Public budgets alone cannot finance economic transformation.

States must now build the institutions, reforms and project pipelines required to attract private capital, development finance, guarantees and capital market instruments.

Using BENIPA’s experience under the Benue State Government led by Governor Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, the FoSIPAN Chairman explained that investment attraction is not just about promotion. It requires serious reforms, stronger coordination among government agencies, clearer land and regulatory processes, credible PPP structuring, investor aftercare and disciplined project preparation.

A practical example is the National Food City Complex in Benue State - a private-sector-led agro-industrial platform designed to support processing, value addition, jobs and export readiness.

The project shows how a State can move from ambition to ex*****on when an Investment Promotion Agency helps coordinate land de-risking, investor facilitation, PPP engagement, approvals and institutional follow-through.

The key takeaway was simple:

A project list is not a pipeline.

For projects to attract serious capital, they must be properly prepared, structured and documented. Investors, DFIs, impact funds and capital markets need credible data, clear approvals, legal structuring, risk allocation and transaction-ready opportunities.

This is why State Investment Promotion Agencies matter.

They are the bridge between national financing strategies and real projects on the ground. They help turn development priorities into investable opportunities that attract the right capital to create jobs, grow revenues and drive inclusive development.

As Nigeria deepens implementation of the INFF, FoSIPAN will continue to advocate for stronger State IPAs, better project preparation, improved institutional coordination and reforms that make Nigerian States more investment-ready.

The future of development finance will not be won by checklist reforms alone.

It will be won by States that can prepare, structure and deliver bankable projects.

To mobilise capital at scale, States must become investment-ready, project-ready and institutionally credible - and State IPAs must be empowered to lead that transition.

07/07/2026

Every major investment in Nigeria is ultimately delivered in a State.

This was the key message shared by the Chairman of the Forum of State Investment Promotion Agencies of Nigeria, and Executive Secretary of Benue Investment Promotion Agency, Dr Terhemen Johnpaul Kpenkaan, at the recent Nigeria–Ethiopia Experience Exchange on the Implementation of the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) in Abuja.

The high-level engagement was hosted by Nigeria’s INFF Core Working Group, with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) serving as the Core Working Group Secretariat, in partnership with the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Speaking during the session on Coordination, Mutual Accountability and Unlocking Investment, Dr Kpenkaan emphasised that national financing strategies will only produce meaningful results when States have the institutions and systems needed to convert development priorities into real investment opportunities.

He noted that investors require more than land, natural resources or market potential. They need clarity and confidence.

They need transparent land access, predictable approvals, tax certainty, credible contracts, coordinated government support and institutions that can help resolve bottlenecks before and after investment decisions are made.

Across Nigeria, States are progressively strengthening investment readiness through legally established Investment Promotion Agencies, PPP frameworks, one-stop investor-service centres, improved land administration, digital approvals, tax reforms and investor-aftercare systems.

According to Dr Kpenkaan:

“These are not merely ease-of-doing-business reforms. They are capital-mobilisation reforms. Investors do not commit capital only because a State has land, minerals or agricultural potential. Capital comes where there is clarity on land, approvals, taxes, contracts, institutional responsibilities and risk.”

He further stressed that State Investment Promotion Agencies must go beyond promoting investment opportunities. They must serve as practical investment-delivery platforms that coordinate the investor journey, support project preparation, facilitate PPP transactions, bring relevant government institutions together and sustain investor confidence.

Using Benue State’s National Food City Complex as an example, Dr Kpenkaan highlighted how political commitment, coordinated facilitation, clearer PPP arrangements and a well-defined project proposition can help move opportunities from concept towards transaction.

The engagement also provided an important opportunity for Nigeria and Ethiopia to exchange lessons on how national financing frameworks can connect more effectively with State and regional institutions, prepared project pipelines and accountable delivery systems.

The INFF provides the financing architecture. Strong State institutions provide the delivery architecture.

FoSIPAN remains committed to working with Nigeria’s INFF partners, State Governments, development-finance institutions and investors to move development priorities from plans to bankable pipelines, from pipelines to transactions, and from transactions to jobs, value addition and sustainable growth.

06/07/2026

Higher IGR is not achieved by taxing the same narrow base more aggressively. It is achieved by growing the businesses, jobs and value chains that generate recurring revenue.

At a recent subnational fiscal-capacity engagement convened with the Joint Tax Board (JTB) under Nigeria’s Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF), FoSIPAN Chairman, Dr Terhemen Johnpaul Kpenkaan, addressed Heads of State Internal Revenue Services from across the Federation.

The engagement, hosted by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, brought together national and subnational leaders to advance stronger, more resilient State revenue systems. ([Federal Ministry of Finance][1])

Dr Kpenkaan’s message was clear:

States cannot build sustainable revenue through enforcement alone. They must deliberately build productive economies.

State Internal Revenue Services play a vital role in improving compliance, taxpayer services and digital revenue collection. State Investment Promotion Agencies play an equally strategic role by attracting, facilitating and retaining the enterprises that create the tax base in the first place.

A manufacturer, agro-processing hub, logistics company, renewable-energy project or commercial farm does more than create an asset. It generates formal jobs, PAYE, local suppliers, SMEs, transport activity, property development, household spending and value-added production.

This is the logic of investment-led revenue growth.

The objective is not to give away revenue. It is to reduce avoidable entry barriers, provide tax certainty and create a predictable environment in which strategic investments can take root, expand and generate long-term value for the State.

FoSIPAN therefore called for stronger collaboration between State Investment Promotion Agencies (SIPAs) and State Internal Revenue Services (SIRS), supported by a structured FoSIPAN–JTB framework for peer learning, shared standards and coordinated State-level action.

The goal is not lower taxation. It is a wider, fairer and more productive tax base.

Every investment facilitated today can become tomorrow’s payroll, supplier network, tax base and development dividend.

03/07/2026

19/06/2026

FoSIPAN Chairman Highlights the Role of State IPAs at Nigeria Sub-National Investment and Tourism Information Roundtable

The Chairman of the Forum of State Investment Promotion Agencies (FoSIPAN), and Executive Secretary/CEO of the Benue Investment Promotion Agency (BENIPA), Dr Terhemen Johnpaul Kpenkaan, featured as a panellist at the Nigeria Sub-National Investment and Tourism Information Roundtable, held alongside the launch of the National Compendium, “Nigeria: Documenting the Economic and Tourism Profiles of 36 States and the FCT.”

The high-level roundtable, which featured His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima Mustapha, GCON, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as Special Guest of Honour, brought together investors, development partners, chambers of commerce, members of the diplomatic community and representatives of State Governments.

Dr Kpenkaan was joined by peers on a panel dedicated to showcasing priority investment opportunities, tourism assets and economic development initiatives at the subnational level. The participating Heads of State Investment Promotion Agencies included: Mohammed Sadiq of the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), Dr Dr. Muhammad Kabir Kamba of the Kebbi Investment Promotion Agency (KIPA), and Dr Aliyu Chikaji from Yobe State Agency for Public-Private Partnership and Investment Promotion.

The session gave participating States a platform to present their investment proposals, highlight sector opportunities, and connect directly with investors and partners interested in Nigeria’s subnational economies.

In his closing remarks as FoSIPAN Chairman, Dr Kpenkaan emphasised that Nigeria is making a significant shift towards consolidating investment attraction as a core driver of economic development. He noted that this shift is being reinforced by reforms that are improving the ease of doing business at the subnational level, as well as the establishment of Investment Promotion Agencies across Nigerian States.

He emphasised that every investment in Nigeria ultimately lands in a State. For this reason, State IPAs are increasingly central to Nigeria’s investment facilitation architecture.

Dr Kpenkaan enjoined investors seeking to invest in any Nigerian State to engage directly with the relevant State Investment Promotion Agency, describing IPAs as single investment windows established to facilitate investor interest, coordinate government support, improve market entry and provide aftercare.

FoSIPAN remains committed to strengthening the capacity, visibility and effectiveness of State IPAs as Nigeria deepens subnational reforms, builds credible project pipelines, and positions States as engines of inclusive growth, job creation and sustainable investment.

All investments land in the States. State IPAs are the gateways.