KIGALI, Rwanda — The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is to dispatch a specialist team to Nigeria to scout for major investment opportunities in livestock, energy, and housing, as international lenders signal growing confidence in the country’s economic reforms.
The announcement was made by the IFC’s Managing Director, Makhtar Diop, following a high-level meeting with President Bola Tinubu on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Summit in Kigali on Thursday.
A statement by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said the move marks a significant step in the World Bank’s private-sector arm seeking to unlock “scalable” capital for Africa’s largest economy.
‘Taking the Bull by the Horns’
Mr. Diop praised President Tinubu for what he described as “courageous and transformative” reforms, specifically citing the controversial removal of the petrol subsidy and the harmonisation of the country’s multiple exchange rates.
“President Tinubu, you have been so courageous in removing the subsidy,” Mr Diop said during the delegation meeting. “I said to myself, President Tinubu took the bull by the horns.”
He added that these policy shifts have sent a “strong signal” to global investors that Nigeria is serious about tackling long-standing economic distortions.
Power and Pension Funds
President Tinubu used the meeting to call for a fundamental shift in how African development is financed, urging the continent to stop relying solely on external aid.
- Pension Fund Reform: The President argued that African pension funds must evolve into “strategic development instruments” to fund massive infrastructure projects.
- Energy Decentralisation: He stressed that for Africa to “leapfrog” industrially, it must move away from centralised power grids. “The funding gap is there, and we must work together,” he told the delegation.
- Local Currency: The discussions also touched on using “swap arrangements” and local currency financing to protect investments from exchange rate volatility.
The ‘African Renaissance’
The IFC seeks to deepen its partnerships with Nigerian financial institutions, such as Access Bank, to enhance interstate trade and financial integration across the continent.
Mr. Diop spoke of a potential “African Renaissance” built on the strength of regional economic champions and robust local institutions.
The forthcoming IFC mission to Nigeria aims to establish actionable frameworks that will enable private investors to engage in livestock production—a critical area the government is eager to modernise to resolve ongoing farmer-herder conflicts—while also tackling the nation’s significant housing shortage.
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