Afreximbank Calabar Conference Targets Sub-Sovereign Investment Pipeline

Afreximbank, in partnership with Cross River State, the Nigeria Governors' Forum and the Forum of State Investment Promotion Agencies, will convene the sixth African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) investment conference in Calabar from November 12 to 14, as Nigeria's states intensify the search for private capital.

The announcement was made this month, with ThisDay reporting on October 17 that the conference will be held at the Calabar International Convention Centre under the theme "The Role of Sub-Sovereigns in Catalysing Development through Trade and Investment."

A network measured in deals

AfSNET was established by Afreximbank in 2021 to give states, provinces, counties and municipalities a structured platform to showcase projects, engage investors and strengthen project preparation capabilities. Since inception it has convened more than 1,400 delegates across five editions, represented 21 African countries and facilitated over $3.2 billion in investment opportunities and transactions.

The portfolio includes a $40 million pharmaceutical plant under preparation in Kisumu, Kenya, and an $871 million titanium dioxide pigment project under development in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In Nigeria, Cross River State has appointed Afreximbank as financial adviser for the development of the $1.7 billion Bakassi Deep Seaport.

Cross River's own pipeline

Hosting the event, Cross River has paired the conference with live transactions of its own. The state has secured a commitment of more than $20 million from ValueFronteira Limited to develop a 4,000-hectare oil palm plantation in Yala Local Government Area over five years, with a concession agreement signed and site handed over for a project expected to create thousands of jobs across six clans.

Governor Senator Bassey Otu said hosting the sixth AfSNET conference gave the state an opportunity to engage African and international investors and demonstrate the breadth of its investment opportunities. Afreximbank's executive vice-president for intra-African trade and export development, Kanayo Awani, said sub-sovereign governments are central to the continent's economic transformation because that is where much of the production, infrastructure and investment ultimately takes place.

From potential to bankable projects

The 2026 edition will focus on converting investment potential into bankable projects, according to Afreximbank. The three-day programme will include investment promotion training, project preparation workshops, showcases, discussions on special economic zones, business-to-government deal rooms and investment pitch sessions, with sessions also covering tourism, the creative economy, trade-enabling infrastructure and regional integration.

Why sub-sovereigns matter

With the federal government's fiscal room constrained and the African Continental Free Trade Area's benefits realised at the level of ports, roads, warehouses and local production, Nigeria's 36 states and other African regions have become the practical frontier of investment promotion. The test for Calabar will be whether the conference converts interest into signed transactions with timelines, not just memoranda.