Nigeria’s ambition to attract $78.5 billion in fresh investment will depend heavily on its ability to resolve electricity constraints, simplify business regulations and provide investors with predictable economic policies, the Federal Government has acknowledged.
The government’s investment pitch to foreign investors in Bangkok, Thailand, has identified 65 projects requiring financing across energy, transport, agriculture, manufacturing and other sectors, with 17 mega-projects accounting for $72.3 billion of the total capital requirement.
The scale of the proposed investments underscores the challenge facing the country: securing funding for major infrastructure and industrial projects while addressing the business environment concerns that have historically complicated investment decisions.
At an investors’ forum organised by Nigeria’s delegation to the ongoing International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele identified electricity supply, food inflation, regulatory inefficiency, decent employment and reliable economic data as priorities for the next phase of economic reforms.
“You cannot power a $1 trillion economy in darkness. It’s impossible,” Oyedele told investors, stressing that electricity constraints remained a major obstacle to expanding production, reducing operating costs and attracting new businesses.
He also identified excessive regulation, multiple fees, licensing requirements and uncertainty over business rules as significant deterrents to private investment, arguing that removing such obstacles could improve economic activity without imposing substantial additional costs on government.
The minister said the government was developing a policy framework to prevent arbitrary changes in regulations, charges and licensing requirements, while improving the accessibility and credibility of economic and fiscal information.
“So you don’t just wake up one day and introduce a new rule or a new fee or new licenses. No, not anymore,” he said.
A central feature of the investment campaign is a proposed Investment Deal Room intended to connect investors directly with project sponsors and government officials. According to Idris Bellow Osagie, Special Adviser on Economic Strategy to the finance minister, the platform will provide project details, capital requirements, investment thresholds and other information needed to assess individual transactions.
The government said the initiative was designed to reduce information gaps and help prospective investors move from identifying opportunities to conducting due diligence and negotiating with project sponsors.
However, the composition of the investment pipeline shows that financing needs are heavily concentrated in a few capital-intensive sectors.
Oil, gas and power account for 25 projects requiring $36.4 billion, while eight transport and maritime projects require $25 billion. Together, the two sectors represent $61.4 billion, or about 78 per cent of the entire investment pipeline.
Agriculture and agro-processing account for six projects requiring $9.8 billion, while 17 projects in industry, manufacturing and mining require $6.6 billion. Another nine projects covering technology, health and urban services have a combined funding requirement of $700 million.
Although the portfolio includes opportunities for investors with different financial capacities, the concentration of funding requirements among the 17 mega-projects highlights the importance of attracting large institutional investors and strategic investment partners.
To improve the appeal of the opportunities, the Federal Government is offering incentives that include 100 per cent foreign ownership in most sectors, repatriation of capital and profits subject to applicable requirements, and tax credits for qualifying investments.
Oyedele said Nigeria’s reformed tax framework had introduced the Economic Development Incentive, under which eligible investors could receive tax credits instead of relying solely on conventional tax holidays.
The scheme, he explained, was designed to reward qualifying investments while ensuring that beneficiaries met the applicable conditions.
The minister also acknowledged that investment decisions depended on more than headline economic indicators, particularly when businesses faced high operating costs and uncertainty over future returns.
He said the government was working to address food inflation by identifying its underlying causes rather than relying on general interventions, adding that the objective was to bring inflation down to single digits and sustain it at that level.
On employment, Oyedele said the government wanted to generate decent jobs capable of improving living standards, noting that a low official unemployment rate could coexist with widespread poverty when many employed Nigerians earned insufficient incomes.
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso, meanwhile, argued that monetary reforms had strengthened the country’s capacity to withstand external economic shocks.
He cited improved foreign reserves and relative stability in the naira as evidence that the economy had developed stronger buffers against geopolitical tensions and international trade uncertainties.
Cardoso said Nigeria’s external reserves had reached their highest level in 18 years, providing additional protection against external pressures, while the decline in inflation from about 34–35 per cent to around 15 per cent represented significant progress.
He nevertheless maintained that inflation remained a major threat to household welfare because it eroded purchasing power, particularly among poorer Nigerians.
“The reason why we felt it was important to give ourselves this as a target is to recognise the fact that inflation is probably the biggest tax on the poor,” he said, reaffirming the CBN’s objective of bringing inflation down to more manageable levels.
The government’s investment campaign also received backing from the Dangote Group, whose Group Chief Economist, Hassan Mammud, attributed improved investment confidence to greater consistency and credibility in fiscal and monetary policies.
Mammud said the reforms had helped the conglomerate improve its business projections and navigate difficulties associated with its investment of approximately $17 billion in the Dangote Refinery.
He urged foreign investors to consider Nigeria’s opportunities, arguing that policy credibility and a more predictable regulatory environment were essential to sustaining large-scale investments.
Beyond the economic reform commitments, the government highlighted Nigeria’s membership of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, 17 double-taxation agreements and 13 bilateral investment treaties as part of its investment protection framework.
The authorities also encouraged prospective investors to examine the 65 project profiles contained in the investment directory and the Projects Nigeria Special Edition, which provide information on project sponsors, financing structures and investment requirements.
With energy and transport accounting for the bulk of the proposed funding, the success of the initiative will depend not only on how effectively the government markets the projects but also on whether investors find the operating conditions, incentives and policy commitments sufficiently credible to commit capital.
For Nigeria, the immediate task is to turn the $78.5 billion investment pipeline into funded projects capable of expanding productive capacity, improving infrastructure and generating jobs.
