USAFRICA Business Week® 2026 put Abuja’s investment prospects before an international audience of investors, developers and business leaders during the United Nations General Assembly high-level week, featuring Nigeria’s Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Dr Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure, in a focused conversation on the capital’s next phase of growth.

At the September 23 gathering at 320 Park Avenue, USAFRICA hosted “Investing in Abuja: Building Africa’s Next-Generation Capital City.” Mahmoud presented Abuja as a growing metropolitan market whose development will require private capital, technical expertise, and credible partners alongside public investment.

The conversation asked a practical question: where can investors participate? Infrastructure, housing, transportation, utilities, commercial development and urban services were among the areas identified in the session brief. The discussion connected the FCT’s development priorities with the types of partners needed to structure, finance and deliver projects.

Through USAFRICA’s curated business conversations, Mahmoud also engaged prospective investors and strategic partners interested in the territory. The meetings provided a setting to explore areas of mutual interest and potential follow-up with the relevant FCT authorities. The next step is to turn those initial discussions into specific project proposals that can be properly assessed.

The pitch came as the FCT administration continues an infrastructure programme spanning the capital and its satellite communities. Earlier this year, the Federal Government highlighted newly commissioned roads and bridges in Abuja as part of a wider effort to improve access and support economic activity. Abuja Investment Company Limited has also promoted public-private partnerships and investment opportunities in the territory through its business and investment summit.

The Abuja conversation formed part of a wider USAFRICA Business Week programme that also examined how coordination across Nigeria’s regions could make infrastructure and investment opportunities easier to develop.

The investment discussion formed one part of Mahmoud’s New York programme. In a separate UNGA-week address on governance and human security, she linked public leadership to citizens’ access to safety, services and opportunity, including meaningful participation by women and young people.

At USAFRICA Business Week, the organisation also presented Mahmoud with a leadership recognition for her advocacy for girls’ education and empowerment, including during her tenure as Kano State Commissioner for Higher Education before she joined the FCT administration. The Presidency has previously acknowledged her work in higher education and advocacy for women and girls.

The organisation said the purpose of its New York platform was to help public leaders and potential partners move from broad interest to informed conversations about investable opportunities. For Abuja, the value of the engagement will be measured in the follow-up: identifying suitable projects, clarifying how investors can participate and taking credible proposals through the FCT’s formal processes.

Convened by Pacetas Agency, a trade and investment advisory firm, USAFRICA Business Week:registered: is a U.S.–Africa business and policy engagement platform held in New York during United Nations General Assembly week. Executive Director Gbenga Omotayo said the platform serves as a gateway to regional trade, helping participants identify the right African markets through market insights and strategic dialogue.