AfSNET 2026: Can Calabar turn investment promises into prosperity?

As Calabar hosts AfSNET 2026, the real test for Cross River State is whether investment promises can translate into industrial growth, sustainable jobs and improved living conditions for residents, writes EMEM JULIUS

As Calabar hosts the sixth African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network Investment Conference from November 12 to 14, Cross River State faces a critical test: can it turn international investment interest into productive industries, sustainable jobs, and improved living conditions for its people?

The conference, convened by the African Export-Import Bank in partnership with the Cross River Government, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Forum of State Investment Promotion Agencies in Nigeria, will hold at the Calabar International Convention Centre.

With the theme, “The Role of Sub-Sovereigns in Catalysing Development Through Trade and Investment,” the gathering will bring together African sub-national governments, investors, financial institutions, and development partners.

The AfSNET 2026 programme will also feature investment promotion training, project preparation workshops, investment showcases, discussions on Special Economic Zones, business-to-government deal rooms, and investment pitch sessions. The organisers say the focus will be on developing bankable projects, mobilising capital, promoting industrialisation, and strengthening intra-African trade.

Governor Bassey Otu has described the conference as an opportunity to attract African and international investors and build partnerships that support sustainable development.

“Hosting the sixth AfSNET Investment Conference provides Cross River State with an important opportunity to engage African and international investors, demonstrate the breadth of investment opportunities within the State and build partnerships that can support sustainable economic development,” Otu said.

Afreximbank’s Executive Vice-President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Kanayo Awani, said sub-national governments were central to Africa’s economic transformation because production, infrastructure development and investment ultimately took place within local economies.

“Through AfSNET, we are creating a practical platform through which states, provinces and counties can strengthen project preparation, connect viable opportunities with capital and build the productive capacity needed to expand intra-African trade,” Awani said.

The bank reports that AfSNET has convened more than 1,400 delegates across five editions, with 21 African countries represented, and facilitated more than $3.2bn in investment opportunities and transactions.

That figure reflects activity associated with previous editions; it is not a guarantee of investment for Cross River in 2026.

The state has also begun preparing its transport infrastructure for the event.

In September, Otu sought stronger collaboration with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to improve flight efficiency, airport facilities and passenger experience ahead of the conference.

“We are expecting people from about 19 African countries, and we are looking at almost 2,000 people coming into Cross River State,” the governor said during a meeting with FAAN’s governing board.

FAAN Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, assured the governor of the authority’s readiness to collaborate with the state to improve airport operations and passenger experience.

The federal authority’s participation highlights an important point: investment promotion requires cooperation across levels of government.

Airport operations, customs, port regulation, trade policy and major infrastructure decisions involve federal institutions, meaning the state cannot resolve every investment barrier on its own.

For Cross River residents, the significance of the event extends beyond its international profile. The real opportunity is to use the conference to address structural economic challenges, particularly poverty, limited industrial processing, inadequate market access for producers, and the need to create productive employment for a growing population.

The NGF Public Finance Database puts Cross River’s projected 2025 population at 4.69 million, spread across 18 local government areas. The state’s development priorities include economic diversification, tourism, agriculture, infrastructure and improved internally generated revenue. Yet a substantial proportion of residents continue to experience overlapping deprivations in education, healthcare, housing and access to basic services.

The National Bureau of Statistics’ 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index estimated that 75.4 per cent of Cross River residents were multidimensionally poor. Although the figure predates the conference and the current administration of Governor Bassey Otu, it underscores the scale of the development challenge facing the state.

For rural households, the challenge often involves more than finding work. Farmers may struggle to secure dependable markets for their produce, while fishers face post-harvest losses because of inadequate preservation facilities. Young people may have skills but lack access to finance, equipment and stable employment.

AfSNET could help attract the investment needed to address some of these problems. But the state must ensure that proposed investments respond to its economic realities rather than merely generate impressive announcements.

Agriculture offers one of the strongest opportunities for spreading the benefits of investment across Cross River. The state’s investment promotion agency identifies oil palm, cocoa, cassava, rice, yam, plantain and other crops as opportunities for commercial production and processing. It estimates that agriculture accounts for more than 42 per cent of the state’s economy.

The priority should be to move beyond primary production to value addition. Investment in cocoa processing, for example, could enable local producers to supply higher-value products to domestic and regional markets.

Modern cassava-processing facilities could produce starch and flour for food manufacturers, while oil palm investment could support edible oil production, packaging and related industries. Such facilities could generate employment for farmers, technicians, machine operators, transporters and distributors. A recent example is the commitment of more than 20 million dollars by ValueFronteira Ltd. to develop a 4,000-hectare oil palm plantation in Yala Local Government Area over five years.

The commitment illustrates the type of private investment the state hopes to attract, although its wider benefits will depend on implementation and links with local suppliers.

Cross River residents say the government should use AfSNET to connect agricultural producers with processors, financiers and buyers.

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It should also encourage outgrower schemes, improve access to extension services and support storage, packaging and transportation infrastructure.

Without these complementary measures, processing plants could struggle to obtain consistent supplies, while farmers remain unable to benefit fully from expanding markets.

In addition, Cross River’s coastal location presents opportunities in fisheries, seafood processing, maritime transport, logistics and port-related industries.

For fishing communities, investment in ice-making plants, cold storage, hygienic landing facilities and refrigerated transport could reduce post-harvest losses and improve earnings.

Women and small businesses involved in fish processing, packaging and trading could also benefit from improved facilities and access to larger markets.

A more ambitious prospect is the proposed $3.5bn Bakassi Deep Seaport, for which Afreximbank has been appointed financial adviser by the state government.

The project is expected to strengthen maritime connectivity and support industrial and logistics development.

If developed successfully, the port could create opportunities in shipping, warehousing, freight forwarding, manufacturing and export processing.

However, the proposed cost should not be confused with secured financing or completed infrastructure.

The project will require credible feasibility studies, funding, efficient road connections, dependable electricity, security and sufficient cargo volumes to attract shipping operators.

AfSNET could bring financiers, logistics companies and potential industrial users into discussions, but it cannot substitute for the detailed planning and implementation required.

The state must also ensure that coastal communities benefit from new economic activities and that development does not unnecessarily damage fisheries, mangroves and other natural resources on which local livelihoods depend.

Similarly, tourism provides another route to job creation. Calabar’s cultural heritage, the annual Calabar Carnival, Obudu Mountain Resort and the state’s biodiversity offer opportunities for hospitality, transport, entertainment and nature-based tourism.

Investment in hotels and attractions could create jobs, but the benefits would be wider if local guides, cultural performers, artists, food vendors and small accommodation businesses were included in the tourism value chain.

The green economy also offers opportunities in renewable energy, sustainable forestry, waste management and climate-resilient agriculture.

These sectors are particularly relevant to a state known for its rainforest and biodiversity.

Investment should, therefore, combine commercial returns with environmental safeguards and transparent benefit-sharing arrangements for affected communities.

The ultimate test of AfSNET will be whether it creates opportunities for residents rather than simply attracting attention to Cross River.

The government should make local employment, skills development, small-business participation and community benefits explicit priorities in investment agreements where appropriate.

Training programmes could prepare young people for work in agro-processing, hospitality, logistics and renewable energy.

Small businesses should receive support to meet the quality and supply requirements of larger investors.

The state should also publish a post-conference investment register showing projects presented, prospective investors, financing requirements, confirmed commitments and agreed next steps while protecting legitimate commercial confidentiality.

Periodic updates should report financing secured, projects commenced, jobs created and obstacles requiring government intervention.

A one-year review would help determine whether the conference delivered lasting benefits or mainly generated short-term commercial activity.

For Cross River, a successful conference could demonstrate how sub-national governments can contribute to economic diversification, industrialisation and stronger intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

For Cross River residents, the stakes are more immediate: better markets for farmers, improved earnings for fishers, jobs for young people, stronger local businesses and a broader revenue base.

Calabar, they argue, will not be transformed simply because it hosts an international investment conference. Transformation will depend on what is financed, what is built, what is produced and how widely the benefits are shared. That is the standard against which AfSNET 2026 should ultimately be judged.