The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, on Thursday advocated the need for a more deliberate approach to attracting and retaining sustainable foreign direct investment (FDI).
The call was made during a virtual pre-summit dialogue themed “Unlocking Sustainable FDI for Productivity and Shared Prosperity.” Stakeholders from the private sector, investment promotion, infrastructure, climate finance, and economic research met to discuss how to maximize FDI’s impact on job creation, local businesses, technology transfer, and productivity.
Speaking, Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa, Chief Executive Officer of Global Mandate Consulting Limited, said Nigeria must move beyond investment promotion to investment delivery, noting that attracting capital is only the beginning of the investment process.
Acknowledging improvements in the investment climate, he said the country must focus on attracting long-term FDI that brings machinery, technology, expertise, jobs and stronger local supply chains.
“Investment promotion tells investors that Nigeria is open for business. Investment delivery ensures that they can actually do business after they arrive,” Ndanusa said.
He identified challenges around land administration, customs procedures, electricity, multiple regulators, overlapping charges and policy inconsistencies as issues that require stronger coordination among government institutions and the private sector.
He said that investment performance should be assessed not only by the value of investments announced, but by the capital actually deployed, jobs created, technology transferred, Nigerian businesses integrated into supply chains, export capacity generated and productivity gains achieved.
He also urged states to develop credible investment propositions based on their comparative advantages and called for a practical roadmap for attracting and retaining productive FDI.
Representing the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Ms. Aisha Rimi, the Director of Policy Advocacy, Mr. Abayomi Salami, said Nigeria must ensure that FDI delivers tangible economic value through job creation, technology transfer, stronger local supply chains, export growth and improved productivity.
He said NIPC was working to create a more competitive, predictable and transparent investment environment by facilitating investments, resolving bottlenecks and improving coordination across government.
He identified agro-processing, manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, digital technology, healthcare, mining and logistics as sectors with significant opportunities, while stressing that continued reforms were necessary to reduce the cost and complexity of doing business.
He also highlighted the Commission’s efforts to strengthen investment promotion at the state level and deepen linkages between multinational companies, large domestic businesses and Nigerian MSMEs.
According to him, NIPC is working with SMEDAN to connect SMEs with major companies and build their capacity to participate in investment value chains.
He added that the Commission is concluding an investment opportunity mapping exercise to identify priority sectors and support the development of bankable projects.
Speaking on strengthening the domestic investment ecosystem, Mr. Muhammad Adama, Partner and Head, Consumer and Industrial Markets Assurance Services Group at KPMG Nigeria, said Nigeria should concentrate on sectors where it has clear competitive advantages while deliberately connecting foreign investors with capable domestic businesses.
Mr Adama identified oil and gas, agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing and the digital economy among areas with significant potential.
He said SMEs should be enabled to participate in the supply chains of multinational companies and foreign investors, while investment incentives should be tied to measurable outcomes such as job creation, skills development, local procurement and supply-chain development.
He further emphasised the importance of policy consistency in attracting long-term FDI, distinguishing it from portfolio investment, which can move quickly in response to market conditions.
According to him, investors planning projects over 5-, 10- or 15-year horizons need confidence that the policy and macro-economic environment will remain predictable.
He noted that uncertainty around the application of new tax provisions to businesses operating in special economic and export processing zones could affect investor confidence, underscoring the need for greater clarity and stability in the investment framework.
Ms. Ifeoma Finnnih, Director, Infrastructure & Climate at Chapel Hill Denham, said Nigeria could leverage its growing pool of domestic long-term capital to unlock productive investment and strengthen the country’s appeal to foreign investors.
Ms. Finnnih noted that Nigeria’s pension industry, with assets exceeding ₦31 trillion, represents a significant source of patient capital, although only a relatively small proportion is invested in infrastructure and other alternative assets.
She said well-structured and bankable infrastructure transactions could help channel more of this capital into productive assets while creating investment structures that give foreign investors greater confidence.
She identified revenue and off-take uncertainty, foreign exchange exposure, sponsor capacity, governance and reporting weaknesses, and poor risk allocation as key barriers to long-term investment.
According to her, the challenge is not necessarily a lack of capital, but a shortage of well-structured transactions capable of addressing investor risks and meeting due diligence requirements.
The dialogue further highlighted the importance of aligning investment with Nigeria’s infrastructure, climate and productive-sector priorities.
Participants emphasized that investment frameworks must be designed to improve competitiveness, expand productive capacity, generate employment and strengthen linkages between domestic and international investors.
The pre-summit dialogue is part of the stakeholder engagements preceding the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32) and contributes to the broader national conversation on policies and actions required to achieve sustainable economic growth, higher productivity and shared prosperity.
The 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32) will be held under the theme “Growth that Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity” on 26th–27th October 2026 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.