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Africa's foremost SEZ advisory

Where policy expertise meets transformational outcomes

Sinolat Consultants has shaped Africa's Special Economic Zone ecosystem from within — led by Dr Adesina A. Agboluaje, former Managing Director of NEPZA, Nigeria's apex Free Zone regulator, with over three decades of first-hand experience.

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60+Free Zones Licensed in Nigeria
$26BCumulative FDI Facilitated
30+Years of SEZ Experience
47+African Countries with SEZs
Dr Adesina A. Agboluaje — Chairman, Sinolat Consultants and former MD of NEPZA
Chairman & Principal Partner
Dr Adesina A. Agboluaje
Chairman's desk

Three decades shaping Africa's Free Zone ecosystem

Dr Adesina Agboluaje is a prolific and seasoned achiever with extensive first-hand experience and a distinguished success record at the highest levels of Nigeria's economic governance. Though formally trained in Engineering and Architecture, his deepest passion lies in Social Economics and the economic development and emancipation of Nigeria's people.

As Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), he repositioned the Authority, established 23 new Free Trade Zones across Nigeria, and oversaw the regulatory commissioning of some of Africa's most consequential industrial corridors — including the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone, the Lekki Free Trade Zone, the Lagos Free Zone, and the Dangote Industries Free Zone.

"Nigeria is the hope of Africa. The Free Zone scheme is the vehicle through which that hope becomes investment, industry, and irreversible economic transformation."

After the end of his tenure in NEPZA, Dr Agboluaje served as Nigeria's Honourable Commissioner to the Regional Investments and Trade Office for Asia — covering China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan. He also served as Government Special Representative to the Lagos Special Economic Zone.

2016
—
Now

Consultancy Practice — Sinolat Consultants

Running consultancy services on Free Trade Zone activities. Appointed Special Adviser to the Board of Directors of NEPZA (2019). Advising governments and investors across Africa on SEZ establishment, policy, and investment facilitation.

2012
—
2016

Honourable Commissioner — Nigeria Regional Investments & Trade Office, Asia

Represented Nigeria's investment and trade interests across China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan. Attracted significant FDI commitments to Nigeria's Free Zone sector from Asian manufacturing conglomerates.

2004
—
2012

Managing Director — Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA)

Repositioned NEPZA as Nigeria's premier investment gateway. Established 23 new Free Trade Zones. Oversaw the regulatory framework for the Lekki, Lagos, Dangote, and Ajaokuta economic zones — cumulatively attracting over $26 billion in foreign direct investment.

2002
—
2004

Government Special Representative — Lagos Special Economic Zone

Articulated government-wide policy implementation strategies; rendered expert advice on zone development; convened strategy monitoring meetings between government and private zone developers.

1998
—
2002

General Manager — Calabar Free Trade Zone

Revived the Free Trade Zone project. Registered over 75 companies; brought 26 to active operation. His leadership gave birth to the Tinapa Free Zone & Resort. Successfully steered the zone to its commissioning by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Awards & Recognition
  • ›Excellence Award in Administrative and Communication Management
  • ›Commerce Merit Award
  • ›Doctorate (Honoris Causa) — Commonwealth University, Belize
What we do

Our expertise

Sinolat's advisory practice is built on decades of lived experience inside Nigeria's SEZ regulatory framework. We advise governments, investors, and zone developers on every dimension of the Free Zone lifecycle.

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SEZ Design & Establishment

End-to-end advisory on establishing new Special Economic Zones — from feasibility and master planning through regulatory licensing and investor attraction.

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Policy & Regulatory Frameworks

Expert drafting and review of the legal and operational frameworks that govern Free Trade Zones — drawing on first-hand experience crafting NEPZA's foundational guidelines.

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Investor Facilitation

Strategic guidance for investors seeking to establish operations within African Free Zones — from due diligence and zone selection through licensing and compliance.

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AfCFTA Zone Integration

Advisory on positioning Free Zones to maximise benefits under the African Continental Free Trade Area — including rules-of-origin strategy and regional value chain linkages.

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Government Policy Advisory

High-level strategic counsel to governments and regulatory authorities on SEZ policy design, institutional reform, and industrial development strategy.

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Zone Operations & Governance

Advisory on operational management and governance frameworks that determine whether a zone succeeds — drawing on the turnaround experience at Calabar and Nigeria's flagship zones.

Our work

Nigeria's flagship zones — shaped by Sinolat

Over three decades, the Sinolat team has advised on, governed, or facilitated the establishment and operation of the zones that define Nigeria's industrial landscape.

Lagos State

Lekki Free Trade Zone

Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos · 165 km²

The Lekki Free Trade Zone is Nigeria's largest and most strategically significant industrial corridor. Sinolat's principal oversaw its regulatory licensing and establishment framework during his tenure as MD of NEPZA, laying the governance architecture that has made it Nigeria's foremost destination for export-oriented manufacturing.

165
$10B+
2003
Lagos State

Lagos Free Zone

Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos · Deep Seaport Zone

The Lagos Free Zone, home to Africa's deepest seaport, represents the convergence of logistics infrastructure and zone investment that NEPZA's regulatory framework was designed to enable. Sinolat's principal shaped the policy environment and investor facilitation protocols that underpinned the zone's development.

830
Tier 1
2015
Lagos State

Dangote Industries Free Trade Zone

Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos · Petrochemical Mega-Zone

Africa's largest single private investment — a $20 billion integrated refinery and petrochemical complex operating under the NEPZA framework. Sinolat's principal led the regulatory engagement and licensing process that enabled this landmark investment during his tenure as NEPZA MD.

$20B
650K
2023
Kogi State

Ajaokuta Economic City Free Zone

Ajaokuta, Kogi State · Inland Steel City

The Ajaokuta Economic City Free Zone extends Nigeria's zone footprint beyond the coastal corridor. As the primary consultant, Sinolat shepherded its establishment — demonstrating that SEZs can anchor industrial transformation in landlocked regions where raw material advantage and strategic infrastructure converge.

Inland
Iron Ore
2026
Insights & perspectives

Knowledge from the heart of Africa's SEZ ecosystem

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Chairman's DeskMay 20268 min read

What I learned running NEPZA — and what it means for Africa's next generation of Free Zones

When I took on the mandate at NEPZA, Nigeria had fewer than a dozen operational Free Trade Zones. By the time I left, that number had more than tripled, with over $26 billion in cumulative investment attracted. The deeper lesson was about governance architecture — how to design a regulatory environment that is simultaneously investor-friendly and sovereignty-preserving.

AA
Dr Adesina A. Agboluaje
Chairman, Sinolat · Former MD, NEPZA
Read full article ›
Policy BriefApr 2026

AfCFTA and Free Zones: Why Nigeria must move now or lose the first-mover advantage

With AfCFTA's phase-two rules-of-origin negotiations concluding, the window for Nigerian Free Zones to lock in preferential regional market access is narrowing.

Read ›
ResearchMar 2026

Beyond tax incentives: The governance factors that actually determine SEZ success in Africa

A Sinolat research note drawing on data from 230+ African SEZs and the firm's primary experience in Nigeria's zone sector.

Read ›
NewsFeb 2026

The Lekki Quadrant at twenty: What it achieved, what it didn't, and what comes next

A candid retrospective on two decades of the Lekki Free Zone corridor and the reform agenda for the next chapter.

Read ›

The Sinolat SEZ Briefing

Monthly intelligence on African Free Zones, policy shifts, and investment opportunities — direct from the Chairman's desk.

About the firm

Built from the inside of Africa's SEZ ecosystem

Sinolat Consultants was founded on a premise that no global consulting firm can replicate: that the most valuable advisory on African Special Economic Zones comes from those who have governed them, regulated them, and built them from the ground up.

Our principal, Dr Adesina Agboluaje, spent over a decade as the Managing Director of NEPZA — the apex regulatory authority over every Free Trade Zone in Nigeria. Before that, he revived the Calabar Free Trade Zone, registering over 75 companies. Before that, he served as a senior government representative in Asia attracting investment into Nigerian zones. His is not a career of studying Free Zones. It is a career of building them.

Today, Sinolat brings that institutional depth — and a pan-African perspective — to governments planning new zones, investors evaluating entry, and zone developers seeking the operational excellence that separates a successful enclave from an expensive disappointment.

Brief us on your challenge
01

Institutional Authority

We advise from the vantage point of having written the regulations, licensed the zones, and attracted the investors. Our credibility is inscribed in Nigeria's economic landscape.

02

Africa-First Perspective

We are not a global firm's Africa practice. We are an African firm with global reach. Our advice is rooted in the realities of the continent — its complexity and its extraordinary opportunity.

03

Integrity Above All

The discipline, determination, and professional integrity that guided three decades of public service govern every client relationship Sinolat holds today.

Get in touch

Brief us on your challenge

Whether you are a government planning a new SEZ, an investor evaluating entry into an African Free Zone, or a zone developer seeking operational advisory — tell us your challenge.

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Headquarters

No 8 Ramalah Abubakar Close,
Life Camp, Abuja, Nigeria

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Email

sinaagbo@gmail.com
sinnaagbo@yahoo.com

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Areas of engagement

Nigeria · West Africa · East Africa
Pan-African SEZ mandates

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