Nigeria recorded a rebound in investment inflows in 2025, marking what the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) described as a turning point after several years of subdued capital flows.
In a position statement titled ‘Nigeria’s 2025 Investment Momentum: An Inflection Point Toward Transformational Growth in 2026’, the FMITI stated that reforms implemented in 2025 under the leadership of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, translated into measurable outcomes across key sectors.
They said investment performance in 2025 showed improved investor confidence, clearer policy direction and stronger execution, aligning with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope 8-Point Agenda and setting the tone for further growth this year.
According to the statement, capital importation rose from $3.9 billion in 2023 to $12.3 billion in 2024, while portfolio and direct investment inflows combined reached nearly $14 billion within the first three quarters of 2025, exceeding the total recorded in the previous year.
Although the figures remain below Nigeria’s long-term investment potential, the ministry noted that the trend represented a shift away from contraction.
Portfolio investment accounted for the bulk of the inflows. By the third quarter of 2025, portfolio investments stood at about $13 billion, compared with $4.4 billion over the same period in 2024. Foreign direct investment also improved to approximately $936 million from $253 million a year earlier. The ministry stated that this marked Nigeria’s first meaningful movement in three years toward attracting longer-term capital commitments.
Investment flows during the year were concentrated in sectors prioritised under the government’s economic agenda, including food security and agro-processing, energy and power, industrial infrastructure and the digital economy. The statement cited multi-million-dollar investments in cocoa processing, palm oil value chains, power distribution, industrial zones, payment services and technology platforms.
Domestic investors featured prominently in the investment activity. Nigerian companies such as Heirs Energies, Presco, UACN and Transgrid Enerco participated as acquirers and consolidators, while development finance institutions and international strategic investors, including Afreximbank and the International Finance Corporation, provided financing support. The ministry said this broadened participation and reduced dependence on a single source of capital.
FMITI attributed the improved inflows to sustained macroeconomic stabilisation efforts, clearer trade and investment regulations and more structured engagement with investors. It disclosed that a pipeline of bankable projects valued at over $5 billion was assembled in 2025, with co-investment strategies involving DFIs and sovereign platforms such as the NSIA and the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund used to support priority projects.
International economic engagements also featured prominently. According to the statement, the minister undertook 50 investment-promotion trips and participated in 150 bilateral meetings with countries including the United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Brazil, India and Benin. These engagements were aimed at advancing cooperation agreements, resolving investment bottlenecks and expanding institutional investor relationships.
In the United Kingdom, the ministry reported progress on the UK–Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership, alongside more than 200 targeted investor engagement sessions involving partners such as British International Investment, UK Export Finance and the UK Department for Business and Trade. In the United States, Commercial and Investment Partnership working groups were inaugurated with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, with agencies including USTDA and the U.S. EXIM Bank participating in project discussions in Abuja and New York.
Data from the ministry showed that in the first quarter of 2025, the United Kingdom accounted for 65.65 per cent of total capital inflows, followed by the United States at 8.15 per cent, South Africa at 7.66 per cent and the United Arab Emirates at 7.18 per cent.
The statement also highlighted efforts to track and convert investment commitments. It said that more than $50 billion in signed commitments from presidential international missions and state visits were monitored at the beginning of the year, with about $13 billion progressing toward implementation by year-end. One example cited was the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises initiative implemented through the Bank of Industry (BOI), which supported the first close of Ventures Platform’s $64 million fund.
At the domestic level, the ministry pointed to the first Domestic Investors Summit held in 2025, which brought together banks, corporates, pension funds and sovereign institutions. It reported that the process involved five deal rooms, regulatory sandboxes and investor-aftercare mechanisms, leading to the resolution of 50 identified bottlenecks and the presentation of more than 40 businesses to potential investors.
While acknowledging that economic pressures persisted for many Nigerians during the year, the ministry stated that the investment environment itself had shifted, with wider participation, stronger inflows and increased focus on sectors linked to production, exports and employment.
In 2026, they said the focus would be on deepening trade relationships, strengthening industrial value chains and improving policy coherence to ensure that investment growth translates into jobs, competitiveness and broader economic benefits.
