Nigeria has launched a central investment “deal room” presenting 65 projects valued at a combined $78.5 billion to prospective investors, as the Federal Government seeks private capital for infrastructure, industry and public services.
The initiative was unveiled during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, by a Nigerian delegation led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso.
A government publication prepared for the meetings describes the portfolio as a pipeline of projects ready for financing across five broad sectors. The opportunities include oil and gas, power, transport and maritime infrastructure, manufacturing and mining, agriculture and agro-processing, technology, health and urban services.
The $78.5 billion figure represents the estimated capital requirement of the projects listed in the portfolio. It is not an announcement that the government has secured that amount, nor does the launch establish that every project has reached financial close. Investors will still have to assess individual proposals, financing structures, risks and implementation arrangements.
The platform is intended to provide a single point through which potential investors can examine the projects and engage government institutions. Officials presented it alongside Nigeria’s wider effort to attract long-term capital for infrastructure and productive businesses.
During the session, Oyedele identified agriculture, electricity, inflation, regulation and public data as five immediate areas of policy attention. He said food production remained central to the government’s inflation strategy and linked improvements in electricity transmission and efficiency to Nigeria’s long-term economic ambitions.
“You cannot power a trillion-dollar economy in darkness,” the minister said while discussing the electricity sector. He also promised more regular publication of government data, saying it would be accessible and credible.
Cardoso told investors that the Central Bank was working towards reducing inflation to single digits over the medium term. “Inflation is probably the biggest tax on the poor,” he said.
The government’s presentation put annual economic growth at 4.43 per cent and headline inflation at 15.39 per cent, compared with 23.14 per cent in 2025. It also cited foreign reserves of $58.81 billion, stronger non-oil receipts and a narrower difference between official and parallel foreign-exchange rates.
Those figures formed part of the administration’s case that recent fiscal, monetary and foreign-exchange changes had improved the investment environment. The presentation also referred to upgrades by major international credit-rating agencies and higher federal allocations to state governments.
The investment drive comes as developing economies face higher borrowing costs and reduced official development assistance. At the Bangkok meetings, finance officials from lower-income countries warned that debt servicing was consuming money needed for infrastructure, jobs and essential public services. Nigeria’s effort therefore places greater weight on private investors and project-specific financing.
For the projects to proceed, sponsors will need to move beyond inclusion in a government catalogue. Large infrastructure and industrial proposals ordinarily require feasibility work, regulatory approvals, land arrangements, environmental assessment, credible revenue plans and agreements on how financial and political risks will be shared.
The breadth of the portfolio also means that implementation will involve several ministries, agencies, state governments and private partners. The value of the deal room will ultimately depend on how many proposals progress from presentation to signed financing, construction and measurable service delivery.
Officials said the government’s objective was to maintain economic stability, expand capital markets and mobilise domestic and international private capital for infrastructure and job-creating investment. The Ministry of Finance’s project publication provides the initial pipeline, while detailed negotiations will determine which of the 65 proposals secure funding.
