The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced plans to immediately send a mission to Nigeria to explore scalable investment structures capable of unlocking private capital into key sectors of the economy.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the Managing Director of the IFC, Makhtar Diop, made the announcement during a meeting with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the 13th Africa CEO Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday.
Diop led an IFC delegation that included the Regional Vice President for Africa, Ethiopis Tafara, and the Director for Central Africa and Nigeria at the IFC, Dahlia Khalifa.
During the meeting, Diop said the IFC was interested in strengthening collaboration with Nigeria in critical sectors such as energy, housing and livestock production.
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He also commended Tinubu for what he described as bold economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the harmonisation of the foreign exchange market.
According to him, the reforms have sent a strong signal to international investors about Nigeria’s commitment to difficult but necessary economic changes.
“President Tinubu, you have been so courageous in removing the subsidy. When you did it, I said to myself, President Tinubu took the bull by the horns,” Diop was quoted to have said.
President Tinubu, in his remarks, reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to leverage private capital for institutional and economic development.
The President said African pension funds must evolve into strategic development finance instruments capable of supporting major infrastructure and productive-sector investments across the continent.
He stressed that African leaders and the private sector must focus on mobilising institutional capital within the continent to finance infrastructure, energy transition and long-term economic transformation.
According to Tinubu, such efforts are essential to addressing Africa’s socio-economic challenges and accelerating development across the continent.
The President also emphasised the need for decentralised energy systems and stronger transmission infrastructure to attract more private-sector investment and drive Africa’s industrialisation agenda.
“If you want Africa to leapfrog, then energy transmission and decentralisation are important. The funding gap is there, and we must work together,” Tinubu was quoted to have said.
The meeting also examined mechanisms for expanding infrastructure financing through institutional investors, local currency financing structures and swap arrangements.
Diop noted that local currency facilities and banking partnerships, including structures involving Nigerian financial institutions such as Access Bank, could strengthen regional financial integration, facilitate trade and improve business activities across Africa.
He added that African leaders face similar development challenges and must work together to drive what he described as an “African Renaissance” anchored on strong institutions and regional economic champions.
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