Attracting private equity to states recovering from long-term security challenges requires more than security guarantees; it demands the removal of administrative and regulatory hurdles. For businesses looking to invest in northern Nigeria, the duplication of local government taxes, slow land title approvals, and opaque regulatory frameworks often serve as significant deterrents to entry.
To address these pain points and lower the barrier to entry for incoming capital, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) convened a high-level town hall meeting in Maiduguri.
Led by PEBEC Director-General Zahrah Audu, the subnational tour brought together private sector operators and business-enabling Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to systematically implement the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) project—a global ease-of-doing-business initiative backed by the World Bank.
Dismantling Multi-Tier Fiscal Friction
A major structural challenge facing agribusinesses, logistics providers, and traders operating in Borno State is the lack of a unified tax system. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) frequently deal with fragmented collections, facing separate, uncoordinated bills from both state internally generated revenue bodies and local government councils.
To clear these bottlenecks, PEBEC has introduced a series of structural recommendations:
-
Tax Harmonization: Merging state and local government fees into a single, transparent, and digital payment system to eliminate illegal road levies and arbitrary assessments.
-
The Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) Framework: Replicating federal accountability models at the state level to ensure that any new business regulation is thoroughly audited for its economic impact before being passed into law.
-
Predictive Enforcement Tracking: Establishing ongoing monitoring pipelines to track how quickly state MDAs resolve complaints from private sector operators.
The Domestic Footprint: Borno-Invest and the BERAP Blueprint
Borno State’s approach to economic recovery relies on utilizing institutional reforms to attract long-term development capital. The state has integrated these goals into its Business Enabling Reforms Action Plan (BERAP) to improve transparency and streamline the investor experience.
Sa’id Kori, Chairman of the Borno State Investment Promotion Agency (Borno-Invest), emphasized that under Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, the state is actively working to lower the cost and time required to execute commercial contracts:
“Our objective is to remove bureaucratic delays and build a seamless, predictable environment for every investor. Borno-Invest is fully prepared to collaborate with PEBEC to simplify local regulations, unify municipal fees, and improve the complete investor journey from initial market entry to operational scale.”
The Macro Outlook: Driving Capital Inflows via Accountability
The subnational engagement in Maiduguri concludes with a clear focus on accountability. PEBEC will track the state’s progress through its upcoming national Subnational Ease of Doing Business Ranking. This index scores Nigeria’s 36 states based on real feedback from private sector operators regarding infrastructure availability, regulatory transparency, and structural efficiency.
As Borno State formalizes its regulatory processes under the SABER framework, it strengthens its position to attract institutional agribusiness and green-energy investments. By transforming its business climate from a high-friction environment into a streamlined, competitive gateway, the state is laying the groundwork for sustainable economic growth, job creation, and long-term financial self-reliance.
