UK investors lead Nigeria’s foreign inflow with $48m headline deals

The United Kingdom remains the dominant source of new foreign investment into Nigeria, supplying roughly 65 per cent of capital inflows over the past year, official government figures show, underlining the renewed appeal of Africa’s largest economy to international investors.

• UK investors accounted for about 65 per cent of Nigeria’s recent foreign capital inflows, according to a Federal Government report.
• The inflows followed the activation of the UK–Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership and a series of domestic reforms.
• Nigeria also recorded strong gains in non-oil exports, trade surplus, and stock market performance in 2025.
• Officials say the figures reflect renewed investor confidence and a shift towards execution-driven economic policy.

According to a government policy document titled 2025: A Defining Year for Nigeria’s Industry, Trade and Investment, the United Kingdom accounted for a significant portion of recent funding commitments.

The ministry highlighted two headline deals: a $7.5 million injection into agricultural venture Babban Gona and a $40.5 million investment in the industrial firm Johnvent Industries.

The emphasis on UK participation reflects strengthened economic ties following the activation of the UK–Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership and a series of reforms aimed at anchoring investor confidence.

“UK investors now account for approximately 65 per cent of recent inflows, including $7.5 million into Babban Gona and $40.5 million into Johnvent Industries,” the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment said, framing the data as proof of growing trust in Nigeria’s transformation agenda.

We’re open for business – Nigeria to foreign investors

The document, which reviews the first year of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, positions 2025 as a turning point for the country’s investment climate. It notes that the government responded to global headwinds with strategic policy adjustments that signalled clearly that Nigeria is “open for business”.

Rather than relying on passive promotional activity typically associated with investment attraction, the ministry said its new approach is driven by systems that actively reduce information gaps, improve project visibility, and strengthen the bankability of investment pipelines.

This, officials claim, has helped advance four priority projects valued at $13.7 billion, a conversion rate of more than 25 per cent compared with the $50.8 billion in memoranda of understanding previously signed.

“Through structured deal origination, FMITI has proactively built a de-risked pipeline exceeding $5 billion across priority sectors,” the report said, referring to the ministry by its acronym.

It added that this framework supports investors “from first engagement to firm commitment,” a shift away from traditional models that often delay or hinder capital flows.

Officials also linked the strong UK participation to sustained bilateral engagements, including high-level missions to the UK and other key global economies. These missions are credited with reshaping investor perceptions and positioning Nigeria more prominently within global investment circles.

Beyond foreign investment, the government highlighted a sharp rise in non-oil exports, which grew by 21 per cent to $12.8 billion in the first half of 2025, nearly double the target of $6.5 billion. That uptick helped generate an approximate 12 trillion naira trade surplus over the same period.

Nigeria rakes in $500 million in export revenue

Based on recent exchange rates where one US dollar trades for around 1,430 to 1,450 naira, that surplus is valued at roughly $8.3 billion in dollar terms. The broader trade value expanded by 14 per cent, the ministry said, driven by targeted trade reforms and improvements to export procedures.

Leading non-oil exports included cocoa and its derivatives, sesame seeds, cashew nuts, shea butter, ginger, hibiscus flower, rubber, palm oil derivatives, fertilisers, cement, and liquefied natural gas.

The document also detailed collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council to train more than 27,000 exporters, certify 200 small and medium enterprises for international trade, and support over 3,000 farmers with hybrid seedlings.

Special Economic Zones are reported to have generated more than $500 million in export revenues while creating over 20,000 direct jobs, through the efforts of Nigeria’s Export Processing Zones Authority and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority.

On macroeconomic performance, the report said that bold policy changes, including foreign exchange liberalisation, the removal of fuel subsidies, and tighter monetary conditions, have bolstered investor confidence.

The Nigerian Exchange was cited as ranking among the top five best-performing stock exchanges globally and fourth in Africa in 2025, as combined foreign portfolio and direct investment reached nearly $14 billion from the first to the third quarter, surpassing total inflows for 2024.

Foreign portfolio investment was the main driver, increasing to $12.99 billion, while foreign direct investment climbed by 700 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter to $936 million.

The ministry also described efforts to engage domestic investors as an essential component of the government’s strategy. It celebrated Nigeria’s first Domestic Investors Summit, saying 75 per cent of the issues raised by investors were resolved on the spot, and the rest within five working days, signalling a shift from ad-hoc engagement to an execution-driven model.

Minister Dr Jumoke Oduwole led visits to manufacturing, agro-processing, and industrial clusters to tackle bottlenecks and support reinvestment. Nigeria was also named Co-Champion of the African Continental Free Trade Area Protocol on Digital Trade alongside Kenya and South Africa, affirming its leadership in continental economic integration.

Looking ahead to 2026, the ministry said it will sustain the momentum by focusing on execution and tangible impact, with investor playbooks in sectors such as solid minerals, digital trade, the creative economy, and climate-smart industrialisation.

“Collectively, 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 ministry concluded.