Introducing ESIDA

The Enugu State Investment Development Authority (ESIDA) is Enugu State’s Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (IPA) which began full operations in May 2018. It was established by the ‘Enugu State Investment Authority Law’ which was passed by the Enugu State House of Assembly in December 2015. The major functions of ESIDA include: to attract new private sector investments; and to protect existing investors. It was established to address issues which make the business environment unfriendly, making it easier for the private sector to do business in Enugu State.

Managing performance through targets and milestones

To fulfill its mandate, the Authority – which has conducted business operations for over a year – has implemented a number of initiatives to position itself to deliver effectively, setting targets and delivery milestones in critical performance areas. Some of these targets are: establishment of a One Stop Investment Center (OSIC) to cut turnaround time for processing relevant approvals; attract not less than USD10 million worth of private sector investments annually; and package investment opportunities in growth sectors and to pitch those opportunities to not less than 20 investors annually. 

Understanding what it takes

For ESIDA to achieve these targets, it requires - amongst other things – an organizational structure and culture which encourages innovation and teamwork and prioritizes performance. Critically, it also needs staff members who possess requisite competencies, orientation and exposure to deliver on the organization’s core functional areas. 

To help realize these capacity requirements, PERL supported a two-day study visit by ESIDA staff to the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA). The visit, which took place on 8-9 August 2019, provided a unique experiential learning opportunity for the ESIDA team. Through a potent mix of didactic and interactive sessions, strategic thinking and facility tours, the ANSIPPA team, led by the Managing Director, provided insights and practical guidance on relevant areas of interest to the visiting  team as follows: effective structure for an IPA; pre-investment evaluation and operation of a One-Stop-Service Centre; investor contracts and MoUs; digital marketing; and best practices in investment promotion and investor enquiry management. 

Leveraging knowledge and learning to improve performance and service delivery

Based on the learning and knowledge gained from the visit, the ESIDA team developed a number of learning commitments which shows the specific actions it will take to improve delivery along key performance areas. Key commitments include:

• Revising ESIDA’s Pre-investment Evaluation Form using ANSIPPA’s template;

• Improving ESIDA’s online presence by improving the content and visibility of its website and social media channels; and

• Requesting Governor’s approval to revise ESIDA’s management structure to include a Governing Council that is autonomous with a mix of technocrats and political heads of relevant ministries, departments and agencies

Going forward

PERL will, as much as possible, support implementation of the learning commitments by connecting the ESIDA team to partners and other relevant resources that will aid implementation. The programme will also facilitate reflection sessions to enable the ESIDA team to review the process of implementation, learn lessons and use the learning to improve its systems and processes. 

Given that ANSIPPA is gradually emerging as a model IPA from which other states are learning, PERL will consider providing support to development of tools and guidelines for ANSIPPA's use; thereby making it a knowledge hub with the capacity to sustainably provide learning for investment promotion and protection.