Economy
Okonwo-Iweala Advises Nigeria to Move from Stabilisation to Job Creation
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has advised the Nigerian government to position recent stabilisation results to drive job creation for Nigerians.
She made the remarks on Wednesday at Nigeria House during the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
The former Nigerian Minister, in her presentation at a panel discussion titled From Scale to Capital: Financing Nigeria’s Role as Africa’s Digital Trade and Infrastructure Anchor, stressed that rising geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and China, have accelerated supply chain diversification.
“Firms are increasingly adopting China+1 sourcing strategies to reduce single-country risk, although China remains deeply embedded in many global value chains.
“In addition, tariffs and trade restrictions have incentivised companies to reconsider reliance on dominant suppliers, prompting the relocation or diversification of production hubs,” she said.
According to her, these disruptions present an opportunity for Nigeria to capture a share of global supply chains.
She, however, noted that this would require aggressive marketing of the country to prospective investors.
“As you said, some good reforms are being pursued right now. I think they need to yield to job creation. That was what I said to His Excellency [President Bola Tinubu]—that we need to move from stabilisation to job creation, because that is where we are lacking. It is not going to be overnight, but they are moving in the right direction. What I think they need to do is map where the opportunities are.
“What I would like to see is a continued effort to attract investment into the country, because there is an opportunity now to attract these supply chains. If there is one thing I would say, it is that everything we can do to showcase Nigeria as a country worthy of investment is what we should be doing.
“And we should deliberately have strategies to go after those investments and investors, to go to China, the US, whatever it takes, to come and invest in our country. As companies seek to diversify supply chains, a lot of that movement is still within Asia.
“Diversification is moving from China but still within Asia, and India is another destination. We should attract a sizeable chunk of that. I’m not saying all.
“Let’s build solar panels in Nigeria. We are importing, but we can also manufacture. We have the renewable capacity. In fashion, let them come to invest. Every time I buy a piece of wax (textile), I check to see where it’s made.
“Let’s attract investment to make it at home rather than elsewhere. Many of the shiny new textiles we are wearing now are not made in Nigeria; a lot of them are imported,” she said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Minister of Steel Development, Mr Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, has told European investors that the country’s steel sector alone consumes about $10 billion annually, presenting a huge market opportunity for serious global players.
In a statement by the Director of Information and Public Relations in the ministry, Ms Salamatu Jibaniya, it was stated that the Minister made this disclosure when he took Nigeria’s industrialisation drive to Germany, declaring that the country is ready to trade its abundant raw materials status and embrace full-scale value addition.
Addressing the Nigeria–German Economic Forum in Dortmund, Mr Audu projected Nigeria as Africa’s next industrial hub, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“With a population of nearly 250 million, largely youthful and energetic, Nigeria is primed for industrial take-off,” he said.
He disclosed that the country holds over three billion tonnes of iron ore, alongside vast deposits of limestone, manganese, copper, lead-zinc, lithium and rare-earth minerals, positioning Nigeria for both domestic industrial growth and export expansion.
Mr Audu urged EU investors to key into steel and aluminium production, mineral beneficiation and processing, as well as critical infrastructure development covering power, rail, gas and ports.
He stressed that beyond capital inflow, Nigeria is prioritising technology transfer and technical skills development to strengthen local capacity.
At the high-level forum, the minister was received by Germany’s Minister for Federal, International and European Affairs, Mr Nathanael Liminski; Lord Mayor of Dortmund, Mr Alexander Kalouti; President of the Dortmund Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Heinz-Herbert Dustmann; and Consul General to Slovakia, Mr Klaus Wagener.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
To boost Nigeria’s cocoa export value chain, Sunbeth Global Concepts Limited has secured approval to issue commercial papers worth N200 billion to investors.
In the first tranche, the cocoa exporter will sell the debt instrument worth about N100 billion in three series across three tenors of 180 days, 270 days and 364 days.
Subscription for the CP commenced on Friday, February 27, 2026, and will close on Thursday, March 5, 2026, with allotment and settlement scheduled for Friday, March 6, 2026.
Interested investors can purchase the commercial papers with a minimum of N5 million and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter.
The company stated that proceeds from the exercise would be used to finance contractual working capital requirements, including inventory procurement and the execution of physical and hedged offtake obligations within its export operations.
The Chief Operating Officer of Sunbeth, Mr Nzubechukwu Anisiobi, said the programme reflects the firm’s disciplined capital strategy and strong credit fundamentals.
“The establishment of our N200 billion Commercial Paper Programme reflects our disciplined capital strategy and solid credit profile.
“In a working capital-intensive export business, access to structured short-term funding strengthens liquidity, supports efficient contract execution and preserves balance sheet stability,” he stated.
Further emphasising investor confidence in the company’s governance and risk framework, he noted that, “The Programme underscores the confidence the capital markets have in our governance standards, earnings resilience and robust risk management discipline.”
Sunbeth, which is a top-five non-oil export contributor in Nigeria, was established in 2017 and has exported over 200,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans and 60,000 metric tonnes of cashew nuts to international markets.
In 2025, it recorded over N600 billion in revenue, reinforcing its scale within Nigeria’s agricultural export ecosystem.
The organisation works directly with more than 30,000 farmers and collaborates with over 250 local buying agents across Nigeria.
Its global strategic partners include Cargill, GCB Group, JB Cocoa, Touton, Macquarie and StoneX, enabling diversified offtake and multi-destination market access across Europe, Asia and the United States.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Five price advancers buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.88 per cent on Tuesday, March 3, as the demand for unlisted stocks continues to grow.
During the session, the market capitalisation added N46.64 billion to close at N2.524 trillion versus the Monday session’s N2.477 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 77.94 points to finish at 4,219.47 points compared with the previous day’s 4,141.53 points.
11 Plc gained N13.23 yesterday to sell at N290.23 per share compared with the preceding session’s N277.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N7.76 to N117.76 per unit from N110.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N7.05 to N84.05 per share from N70.00 per share, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc added 17 Kobo to close at N1.92 per unit versus N1.75 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc advanced by 4 Kobo to settle at 49 Kobo per share versus 45 Kobo per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc dropped 37 Kobo to sell at N3.39 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.76 per unit, and NASD Plc dipped 20 to N56.21 per share from N56.41 per share.
On Tuesday, the volume of securities went down by 19.6 per cent to 1.4 million units from 1.8 million units, but the value of securities increased by 447.2 per cent to N93.4 million from N17.1 million, and the number of deals soared by 118.5 per cent to 59 deals from 27 deals.
At the close of transactions, CSCS Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 35.8 million units sold for N2.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc exchanged 122.8 million units valued at N480.4 million.
The most active stock by volume (year-to-date) was Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units worth N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.8 million units worth N480.4 million, and CSCS Plc with 35.8 million units transacted for N2.2 billion.
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