The Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN), marking two decades of existence, is undergoing a strategic expansion to ensure that businesses across all of Nigeria’s six geo-political zones can benefit from crucial insolvency and business restructuring options.
In an interview, BRIPAN President Mr. Ihekweazu, fresh from attending international events and hosting a Summit in Owerri, Imo State (the Association’s first in the Southeast), detailed this major organizational shift.
Decentralizing Expertise for Economic Growth
The decision to host the Southeast Summit marks a significant achievement in fulfilling a core promise made by Mr. Ihekweazu upon assuming leadership in December 2023: to extend BRIPAN’s operations beyond its traditional Lagos base.
To achieve this, the Association immediately established six dedicated zones, each led by a Zonal Coordinator. The core mandate of this expansion is dual-fold:
-
Awareness Creation: Educating businesses and stakeholders on the huge opportunities and benefits available under the Insolvency and Business Restructuring legal framework.
-
Capacity Building: Organizing workshops, conferences, and trainings to ensure members’ standards of practice can match and compete with international insolvency bodies.
Expanding Footprint and Future Plans
The organization has successfully moved its activities out of Lagos, starting with a members’ engagement in the North Central zone, followed by a successful ‘Members Nite Out’ in Enugu.
-
South-South and North East: Zonal leaders are currently holding productive awareness engagements with the Nigerian Bar Association and other professional bodies.
-
National Impact: The overarching goal is to leverage the insolvency regime to support national economic growth and development by providing pathways for rescuing failing businesses across the country.
Mr. Ihekweazu emphasized that this regional spread, exemplified by the timely South East Summit, is crucial for mobilizing the insolvency regime as a tool for economic recovery in Nigeria.
