Market News

By Arinze Nwafor

Nigeria attracted nearly $14bn in combined foreign portfolio investment and foreign direct investment in the first nine months of 2025, driven by renewed investor confidence and wide-ranging economic and investment reforms, the Federal Government has stated.

According to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment on Tuesday, this $14bn in combined FPI surpasses the total inflows recorded in 2024.

In a document titled ‘2025: A Defining Year for Nigeria’s Industry, Trade and Investment,’ the ministry noted that foreign portfolio investment led the recovery, rising to $12.99bn. Foreign direct investment showed “promising, robust growth from a historically low base.”

According to the document, FDI expanded by 700 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2025 and reached $936m year-to-date, signalling “renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s reform trajectory.”

The ministry attributed the surge in capital inflows to macroeconomic and structural reforms implemented under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, including foreign exchange liberalisation, the removal of fuel subsidies, monetary tightening, and stronger investor aftercare.

It stated, “As a result, combined foreign portfolio investment and foreign direct investment reached nearly $14bn in Q1–Q3 2025, surpassing total inflows in 2024,” adding that the Nigerian Exchange also ranked among the world’s top-performing stock markets during the year.

Additionally, the ministry noted that Nigeria recorded progress in converting investment commitments into live projects, with four priority projects valued at $13.7bn advancing during the year.

It explained that the projects represented a conversion rate of over 25 per cent from the $50.8bn worth of signed Memoranda of Understanding, reflecting a shift from passive investment promotion to an execution-driven model.

“In 2025, Nigeria significantly strengthened its investment facilitation architecture, transitioning from passive promotion to an active, systems-driven model that reduces information asymmetries, improves project visibility, and enhances the bankability of investment pipelines,” the document stated.

The ministry added that structured deal origination helped to build a de-risked investment pipeline exceeding $5bn across priority sectors, supported by curated deal rooms, targeted roadshows, and hands-on investor support.

The Federal Government also noted that investor confidence received a further boost in June 2025 when President Tinubu hosted several West African leaders at the West Africa Economic Summit, where a deal room generated over $400m in origin and showcased vetted investment deals.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, also led high-level bilateral engagements and trade missions to key economies, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, and Brazil, deepening investment pipelines and reshaping investor perceptions of Nigeria.

“These engagements have delivered tangible gains, enhancing investor confidence, improving deal flow quality, and positioning Nigeria as a credible, reform-driven destination for long-term capital,” the ministry said.

Alongside foreign investment, the ministry highlighted efforts to retain and expand domestic capital, describing Nigerian investors as “the first and most enduring vote of confidence in the economy.”

It noted that Nigeria hosted its first Domestic Investors Summit in 2025, where 75 per cent of investor issues raised were resolved on the spot, while all were closed within five working days, marking a shift to a repeatable execution model for resolving investment bottlenecks.

Oduwole also carried out company visits across manufacturing, agro-processing, electric vehicles, and industrial clusters to resolve operational challenges and encourage reinvestment, the statement said.

On trade and exports, the ministry reported strong performance driven by non-oil exports, which grew by 21 per cent to $12.8bn in the first half of 2025, almost double the $6.5bn target.

The growth contributed to a N12tn trade surplus in the period, while overall trade value expanded by 14 per cent, supported by improved trade facilitation, logistics reforms, and increased value addition.

Nigeria’s leading non-oil export products included cocoa and cocoa derivatives, sesame seeds, cashew nuts, shea butter, ginger, hibiscus flower, rubber, palm oil derivatives, fertilisers, cement, and liquefied natural gas.

The ministry said its collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council helped to train over 27,000 exporters, certify 200 micro, small, and medium enterprises for international trade, and support more than 3,000 farmers through improved seedlings.

It added that Special Economic Zones generated over $500m in export revenues and created more than 20,000 direct jobs, reinforcing their role in industrialisation and employment generation.

On continental trade, the ministry said Nigeria strengthened its leadership under the African Continental Free Trade Area, hosting key engagements on digital trade and earning appointment as Co-Champion of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade alongside Kenya and South Africa.

Nigeria also gazetted its provisional tariff concession schedule, enabling duty-free trade on 90 per cent of goods across Africa, and became the first AfCFTA state party to publish a five-year implementation review.

Looking ahead, the ministry said it would build on the 2025 momentum by focusing on execution and measurable impact in 2026, with investor playbooks in priority sectors such as solid minerals, digital trade, the creative economy, and climate-smart industrialisation.

“These results affirm that 2025 marked a decisive inflexion point for Nigeria, restoring investor confidence, strengthening competitiveness, expanding exports, and laying the foundation for sustained and inclusive growth,” the document stated.