Nigeria attracted about $4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025, more than double the $1.6 billion recorded in 2024, driven largely by major oil and gas project financing deals, a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said.

According to the World Investment Report 2026, titled ‘International Investment in a Turbulent Era’, which tracks global cross-border investment trends, Nigeria’s improved inflows are mainly due to oil and gas-related international project finance (IPF) deals, including a single transaction valued at about $2 billion.

The report also highlighted significant cross-border mergers and acquisitions completed during the year, including the acquisition of Shell’s onshore oil assets by Renaissance Africa Energy and the purchase of Lafarge Africa Plc by Huaxin Cement.

Nigeria also ranked among the leading African destinations for large-scale investment projects, alongside Algeria, Namibia, South Africa and Ethiopia, attracting investments in hydrocarbons, refining, battery storage and industrial production.

The report further showed that Nigerian companies expanded their overseas investments during the year. FDI outflows almost tripled to about $1.2 billion in 2025 from approximately $408 million in 2024.

UNCTAD‘s data also indicated that Nigeria’s inward FDI stock, a measure of the cumulative value of foreign investment in the country, climbed to about $92.9 billion in 2025, from $86.2 billion in 2024. Outward FDI stock, representing Nigerian investments abroad, rose to about $18.5 billion from $17.6 billion over the same period.

Nigeria’s performance helped lift West Africa’s overall FDI inflows by 44 per cent, to about $19.6 billion in 2025, making it one of only two African sub-regions, alongside East Africa, to record growth during the year. Southern and Central Africa each declined by 21 per cent, while North Africa fell by 56 per cent following an exceptional 2024 driven by a single Egyptian megaproject.

Overall, FDI inflows into Africa dropped by 26 per cent, from about $94 billion in 2024 to $70 billion in 2025. Despite the decline, the report noted that the number of announced greenfield investment projects increased, signalling a shift away from megaproject-driven investment towards a broader pipeline of smaller projects, although the 10 largest projects still accounted for about 40 per cent of total announced greenfield investment value.

UNCTAD also recently implemented policy reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s investment climate. According to the report, Nigeria introduced a 15 per cent minimum effective tax rate for multinational enterprises with annual revenues above €750 million, aligning with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Global Anti-Base Erosion framework.

The report added that Nigeria and Cameroon have replaced broad tax exemptions with tiered tax credits linked to job creation, local value addition and investments in priority sectors.

It also cited Nigeria’s introduction of performance-based tax credits for upstream petroleum companies, with fiscal incentives tied to cost efficiency.

On innovation, UNCTAD pointed to Nigeria’s Nigeria Startup Act and related central bank regulatory frameworks as examples of regulatory sandboxes that allow start-ups to test products under controlled conditions before full regulatory compliance, helping reduce uncertainty for innovative businesses.

Globally, FDI rose by 6 per cent to $1.6 trillion in 2025, following two consecutive years of decline, the report said. However, it noted that the growth masked underlying fragility, as it was driven largely by a small number of megaprojects, particularly artificial intelligence-related infrastructure, while new project activity remained subdued across most sectors.

According to the report, FDI inflows into developed economies rose by 11 per cent to $723 billion, while developing economies recorded a modest two per cent increase to about $901 billion.

UNCTAD added that FDI remained the largest source of external financing for developing countries in 2025, accounting for about half of total external financial inflows, ahead of remittances, official development assistance and portfolio investment.