By Chris Agabi
The Governor of Benue State Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has appointed Johnpaul Terhemen Kpenkaan as the Executive Secretary of Benue Investment Promotion Agency, BENIPA.
Before his present appointment, he had worked in the same capacity as Technical Adviser to the Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company, where he chaired the Central Planning Committee and oversaw the successful hosting of the maiden Benue Local Investors Forum in December 2023.
Kpenkaan is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC) and a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, summa cum laude. With over 17 years of experience, he is renowned for driving innovation across diverse sectors such as education, health, fintech, and small business development.
During his tenure as Director General of the Nigerian Youth Chamber of Commerce, he secured accreditation from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He also pioneered the development of the Academy for MSMEs that transformed entrepreneurial training across 22 states in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With his wealth of knowledge and experience, the Governor believes Kpenkaan will bring a lot to bear on his new assignment.
While wishing him a successful handling of his new assignment, His Excellency charges Kpenkaan to always put the interest of the state first in all his official dealings. He admonished him to always work in line with the blueprint of the administration as encapsulated in a seven-point agenda.
Profile of Terhemen Johnpaul Kpenkaan
Johnpaul is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC) and a Certified Project Management Professional (DPro). He holds a Master of Business Administration (USA) summa cum laude. With over 17 years of experience, he is renowned for driving innovation across diverse sectors such as education, health, fintech, and small business development.
As the Technical Adviser to the Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company, he chaired the Central Planning Committee and oversaw the successful hosting of the maiden Benue Local Investors Forum in December 2023. He nurtured a partnership between the Benue State Government and the Bureau for Public Enterprises to establish a PPP framework for Benue State. This collaboration will result in the BPE supporting Benue State in establishing project pipelines for attracting investors to revive moribund assets in the state, and also domesticate the Electricity Act to establish an electricity regulator and open up the electricity market in the state.
Prior to this role, Kpenkaan served as the Director of Programs at the System Strategy and Policy Lab (SSPL), a private-led think tank based in Abuja. At SSPL, he led the implementation of donor-supported projects, the development of strategic plans, and the coordination of multi-sectoral initiatives.
Terhemen attracted funding from the World Bank and led a team of consultants to conduct the Joint Sector Performance Review of the education sector in Nigeria from 2019-2022. The report was published in October 2023, demonstrating his capability to lead large-scale multi-sector projects nationwide.
Johnpaul’s influence cuts across policy advancement, governance delivery, system strategy, and digital transformation. He has made policy contributions to initiatives like the NATCOM-UNESCO Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and the National Financial Inclusion Technical Working Group hosted by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
During his tenure as Director General of the Nigerian Youth Chamber of Commerce, he secured accreditation from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and pioneered the development of the Academy for MSME that transformed entrepreneurial training across 22 states in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. His track record of multi-stakeholder engagement is evident in his collaborations with the African Union ECOSOC and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), where he fostered youth engagement in agricultural entrepreneurship. He initiated the National Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurship Development Programme (NYAEDP) and led a team of consultants on a study highlighting the importance of market development in optimising agriculture in Nigeria. The Central Bank of Nigeria endorsed Johnpaul for novel financial inclusion initiatives he developed during this period.
Johnpaul is President of the Abuja Jurisdiction of the Digital Frontiers Institute Alumni Association, a vibrant community of practice for digital finance professionals, which comprises the 19 Northern States of Nigeria.
