Sinolat Consultants — Africa's SEZ Authority

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.

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 Ogun Guangdong, Lekki, Lagos, and Dangote 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. 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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Training & Compliance Monitoring

Training and monitoring for staff for compliance and application, and administration of incentive regimes — ensuring zone enterprises operate fully within the regulatory framework and maximise all available benefits.

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Project Management

Project management from conception to completion — overseeing Free Zone development, infrastructure delivery, and operational launch with the full rigour of three decades of on-the-ground SEZ experience.

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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.

What we stand for

Our values

Every engagement Sinolat undertakes is shaped by values that are not aspirational — they are operational. They determine how we advise, how we communicate, and what we consider success.

Passion & Commitment

Passion for results and positive impacts in line with the aspirations of our clients, and an unwavering commitment to standards, quality, and professionalism in every dimension of our business process.

Passion & Commitment

Honesty & Openness

Strong intellectual honesty to always say things as they are in an assertive way, and genuine openness to admit to new beliefs. We tell clients what they need to hear, not only what they want to hear.

Honesty & Openness

Sustainability

Ensuring sustainability in the growth of our clients' investments is of utmost importance. Our experience has shown that making business meet the test of time in Nigeria demands deep experience with the workings of MDAs.

Sustainability

Our zone portfolio

Nigerian Free Zones — shaped by Sinolat

Over three decades, our principal has governed, licensed, and facilitated the establishment of the zones that define Nigeria's industrial landscape.

Ogun State

Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone

Igbesa, Ogun State · Sino-Nigerian Industrial Corridor

One of Nigeria's most significant Sino-Nigerian investment platforms — a sprawling industrial complex housing Chinese and international manufacturers. Sinolat's principal was instrumental in its regulatory establishment during his tenure as NEPZA MD, creating the framework that has made it a model for bilateral industrial zones across Africa.

Lagos State

Lagos Free Zone

Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos · Deep Seaport Zone

Home to Africa's deepest seaport and one of Nigeria's most investor-ready corridors. Its iconic gateway arch marks the threshold into a zone shaped by the regulatory architecture Sinolat's principal helped build.

Lagos State

Lekki Free Trade Zone

Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos · 165 km²

Nigeria's largest Free Trade Zone — 165 square kilometres of export-oriented industrial infrastructure anchored by CNOOC, Indorama, and major manufacturing groups. Licensed and governed under the framework Sinolat's principal established at NEPZA.

Lagos State

Dangote Industries Free Zone

Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos · Africa's Largest Private Investment

A $20 billion integrated refinery and petrochemical complex — the largest single private investment on the African continent. Its NEPZA licensing under Sinolat's principal set a precedent for mega-project zone approvals across Africa.

Insights & perspectives

Knowledge from the heart of Africa's SEZ ecosystem

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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 spent over a decade as the Managing Director of NEPZA — the apex regulatory authority over every Free Trade Zone in Nigeria. His is not a career of studying Free Zones. It is a career of building them.

Brief us on your challenge

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.

Africa-First Perspective

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

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, 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

principalpartner@sinolatconsultants.com

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Areas of engagement

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

Brief Us

Where policy expertise meets transformational outcomes

Three decades shaping Africa's Free Zone ecosystem

Consultancy Practice — Sinolat Consultants

Honourable Commissioner — Nigeria Regional Investments & Trade Office, Asia

Managing Director — Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA)

Government Special Representative — Lagos Special Economic Zone

General Manager — Calabar Free Trade Zone

Our expertise

SEZ Design & Establishment

Policy & Regulatory Frameworks

Investor Facilitation

AfCFTA Zone Integration

Training & Compliance Monitoring

Project Management

Government Policy Advisory

Zone Operations & Governance

Our values

Passion & Commitment

Honesty & Openness

Sustainability

Nigerian Free Zones — shaped by Sinolat

Knowledge from the heart of Africa's SEZ ecosystem

The Sinolat SEZ Briefing

Built from the inside of Africa's SEZ ecosystem

Institutional Authority

Africa-First Perspective

Integrity Above All

Brief us on your challenge

Headquarters

Email

Areas of engagement

Tell us about your project