The South-East Development Commission (SEDC) has unveiled a 10-year roadmap to transform the region through investments, public-private partnerships and innovative financing.

To achieve this, SEDC, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), organised a high-level roundtable on Thursday that brought together government leaders, development partners, private sector stakeholders, and civil society to explore aligned strategies for rebuilding the region.

The newly established SEDC aims to reposition the five South-Eastern states, namely Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, as hubs of enterprise, innovation, and investment.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had in 2024 assented to regional development bills, including the SEDC bill, which followed the earlier creation of the North-East, Niger Delta, North-West, South-West, South-South, and North-Central Development Commissions.

Speaking at the unveiling in Abuja, the UNDP Resident Representative, Elsie G. Attafuah, declared that the South-East, with its strong entrepreneurial culture, population, and diaspora support, is positioned to spearhead the nation’s next wave of economic transformation. She echoed the need for collaborative solutions that reflect regional strengths while addressing national challenges.

Attafuah said, “The South-East has a proven model of value creation through community structures that emphasise innovation, mentorship and reinvestment.”

“Transformation is possible when sub-national actors are empowered; this is a pivot point, not just for the South‑East, but for Nigeria as a whole,” she added.

In his address, Engineer Abubakar Momo, Minister of Regional Development, stated that the initiative aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in its priorities for inclusive growth, infrastructure, and human capital development. He emphasised how the regional commissions would complement national priorities such as economic reform, infrastructure enhancement, youth empowerment and improved governance.

“This roundtable is not just a conversation; it is a call for action. It offers us a valuable opportunity to deepen our shared understanding and foster collaboration between the regional development commissions and esteemed development partners,” Momo said.

Also speaking, Managing Director of SEDC, Mark Okoye, who unveiled the commission’s priorities, which include launching the South-East Regional Development Plan by December and setting up innovative financing vehicles like a $1 billion investment company and venture capital fund, emphasised that the commission’s goal is to build “a one-region, one-market economy” that enables ease of doing business across all five states.

“Why are we doing this? Because we want to secure buy-in from MDAs, from the organised private sector, and from the public, to create shared successes. We can’t do it alone,” he said.

Okoye said the commission is conducting feasibility studies and crafting projects in power, roads and industrial infrastructure that appeal to both government and private investors.

“If we structure it right, diaspora and institutional investors will come,” he noted.