Economy
Reforms by Buhari Have Attracted Investors’ Interests—Osinbajo
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, has said Nigeria, under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, was making steady progress and on the path of prosperity as a result of reforms covering critical sectors of the economy over the past four years.
He said even though much still needed to be done in the different sectors of the economy, the country has enormous potential which would be realised.
In a keynote address delivered at the Redeemer’s Men Fellowship Conference themed Galvanized for Geometric Growth in Lagos on Saturday, Mr Osinbajo stressed that the reforms by the present administration have spurred progress and attracted investors’ interests across different sectors comprising agriculture, technology, tourism and entertainment, manufacturing amongst others.
“Just this week, the Spur Group, an IT company from China indicated that it will be establishing a computer hardware manufacturing plant in Nigeria.
“In the course of last year, the Mara Group of Ashish Thakkar had also indicated that it will set up a manufacturing plant for Mara Phones in Nigeria.
“Kobo360, which was one of the start-ups in a group that I led to Silicon Valley in July 2018, aggregates end-to-end haulage operations and raised $30m in a Series A round led by Goldman Sachs and Nigerian commercial banks.
“Using technology, Kobo360 has made it possible for providers of haulage services to find cargoes for their trailers on return journeys, in effect halving the cost of transporting goods,” the Vice President said at the
event organised by the men group of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), where he is an ordained pastor.
VP Osinbajo also referenced the recent US-based Newsweek magazine’s special cover edition which described Nigeria as the Black China and Africa’s first super-power, saying “despite our challenges, Nigeria is the ‘last major open market, and like China and India, its population and economic size will enable economies of scale and attract international investment.”
Continuing, the Vice President said the potential of the Nigerian economy has also been boosted by the Buhari administration through direct and indirect investments in agriculture, manufacturing, technology and creative industries.
According to Mr Osinbajo, who is a Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), “the story of increased rice production in Nigeria is well known, with production of paddy rice in 2019 estimated at 7.3 million metric tonnes compared to about 5 million metric tonnes in 2015.”
“A little noticed phenomenon taking place in agriculture is the use of technology to attract crowdfunding into the sector. Given the huge interest in agriculture and the relative ease of investing through such platforms, we will see a huge increase in investment in agriculture and subsequent increases in agricultural output across the value chain,” he added.
In the manufacturing sector, the Vice President said all critical indices have so far indicated significant improvements between 2018 and 2019.
He said, “this positive outlook for the manufacturing sector can be seen from the Leventis Group which, for instance, continues to make substantial investments in the Nigerian manufacturing sector through its subsidiaries, the Nigerian Bottling Company and Beta Glass.
“The Nigerian Bottling Company will soon be commissioning its Asejire Plant, which has taken a substantial part of a recent $500 million investment in Nigeria, while Beta Glass which makes the bottles for the pharmaceutical sector and for beverages like Coca-Cola and Star Beer, has invested another $30 million to expand its furnace capacity.”
The technology sector, according to Vice President Osinbajo, “continues to hold out great promise.”
Citing recent industry reports, he said, “Nigerian start-ups attracted $122 million out of the $492 million in funding to the African start-up sector in 2019.
“Perhaps more compelling is the increasing use of e-payment channels within the economy. The value of Point of Sale (POS) transactions is reported to have reached over N3.2 trillion in 2019 as compared to N2.3 trillion in 2018, an increase of 38 percent, while the volume also increased by 153 million transactions to a total of 438 transactions in 2019.”
In the area of infrastructure, the Vice President disclosed that the Federal Government’s interventions through the various reforms would yield greater results.
Noting the efforts of the Buhari administration to address the country’s major infrastructure deficit, the VP said, “So, our focus in the last few years has been on investing in roads, rail, and power. We have a major road project going on in every state of the federation.
“Some of the road projects scheduled for substantial completion in 2020/2021 include: Dualization of Suleja-Minna road, Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa/Bokani road, Nnewi-Oduma-Mpu (in Enugu)-Uburu (Ebonyi), Yenagoa-Okaki-Kolo-Nembe-Brass road, Bodo-Bonny road with a bridge across the Opobo channel, the rehabilitation and expansion of Lagos-Badagry expressway and, of course, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.”
He added that 19 other road projects measuring about 800 kilometres have been prioritised in 11 states across each of the six geo-political zones, which would be done by 10 local companies that have applied to join Dangote group and NLNG in the Investment Tax Credit Scheme of the Federal Government encouraging private sector investments in infrastructure.
Also speaking on the new Finance Act 2019, the Vice President said the law is government’s fiscal response to the issues of limited revenue sources and the need to improve the business environment, especially for small and medium businesses.
“The Act has two main purposes with extremely beneficial effects on the Nigerian economy. It addresses the issue of domestic revenue mobilization on which Nigeria has often paraded quite a low record.
“However, even while achieving this objective for the public sector, the Finance Act is calibrated to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria and actively foster private sector growth.”
The event was also attended among others, by the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Akinwumi Adesina, and the National Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Joseph Obayemi, who is also President of the Fellowship.
Earlier in his own speech, Mr Adesina, commended the Buhari administration for the achievements recorded in the agricultural sector, noting that the efforts of the federal government have revolutionized agriculture in the country.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Bank has approved a $500 million facility for Nigeria to expand longer-term lending to small and medium sized businesses.
Approved under the Fostering Inclusive Finance for MSMEs in Nigeria (FINCLUDE) project, the package comprises a $400 million International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan and a $100 million International Development Association (IDA) credit. Both IBRD and IDA are members of the World Bank Group.
The scheme will be implemented by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), with credit guarantees provided through DBN’s subsidiary, Impact Credit Guarantee Limited (ICGL).
FINCLUDE is designed to address constraints faced by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria which despite accounting for most businesses and nearly half of gross domestic product (GDP) face long-standing barriers to formal finance.
Fewer than one in 20 MSMEs have access to bank credit; loans are often short-term and costly; and collateral requirements exclude many viable firms. Women-led enterprises, which make up a substantial portion of MSMEs, are disproportionately affected, facing higher rejection rates and limited tailored products. Agribusinesses, central to food security and rural livelihoods, similarly struggle to obtain more extended‑tenor financing for equipment, processing, storage, and logistics.
However, FINCLUDE seeks to address these constraints by expanding access to affordable, longer-term finance and tailored solutions for segments with the most significant development impact.
Speaking on this, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr Mathew Verghis, said, “FINCLUDE is about jobs, opportunity, and inclusion. By expanding access to finance for viable MSMEs—particularly women-led firms and agribusinesses—Nigeria can accelerate growth and deliver tangible benefits across communities nationwide.
“The project will make it easier for deserving small businesses to get the finance they need to grow and hire workers. With better support for lenders that practice inclusive finance and fairer, longer-term loans for entrepreneurs, we are backing the people who power Nigeria’s economy—especially women and those in agriculture.”
The FINCLUDE project will help to mobilise private investment and expand access to and usage of inclusive, innovative financial products for MSMEs nationwide.
Through DBN, the operation will strengthen the capacity of banks, including microfinance banks and non-bank financial institutions such as financial technologies (fintechs), to provide larger loans with more reasonable repayment periods, and—through ICGL—will scale partial credit guarantees so that lenders can extend credit to businesses they might otherwise consider too risky.
Targeted technical assistance will modernise loan appraisal by leveraging AI-enabled digital platforms to accelerate decision-making, improve data quality, strengthen impact measurement, and build capacity for both MSMEs and participating financial institutions.
According to the World Bank, a strong emphasis on inclusion will ensure that women-led businesses and agribusinesses benefit from these improvements.
Also commenting, Task Team Leader for FINCLUDE, Mrs Hadija Kamayo, said, “FINCLUDE will help to mobilize approximately $1.89 billion in private capital, expand debt financing to 250,000 MSMEs—including at least 150,000 women-led businesses and 100,000 agribusinesses—and issue up to $800 million in guarantees to catalyse lending.
“By extending the average maturity of MSME loans to about three years, it will help firms invest in equipment, factories, staff, and productivity, translating finance into jobs and growth.”
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market firmed up by 1.13 per cent on Friday as appetite for Nigerian stocks remained strong.
Investors reacted well to the 2026 budget presentation of President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly yesterday, especially because of the more realistic crude oil benchmark of $64 per barrel compared with the ambitious $75 per barrel for 2025. This year, prices have been between $60 and $65 per barrel.
Business Post observed profit-taking in the commodity and energy sectors as they respectively shed 0.14 per cent and 0.03 per cent.
But, bargain-hunting in the others sustained the positive run, with the consumer goods index up by 3.82 per cent.
Further, the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.46 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.08 per cent, and the insurance industry gained 0.04 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,694.33 points to 152,057.38 points from 150,363.05 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N1.080 trillion to finish at N96.937 trillion compared with Thursday’s closing value of N95.857 trillion.
A total of 34 shares ended on the advancers’ chart, while 24 were on the laggards’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Austin Laz gained 10.00 per cent to close at N2.42, Union Dicon also jumped 10.00 per cent to N6.60, Tantalizers increased by 9.80 per cent to N2.69, Aluminium Extrusion improved by 9.78 per cent to N12.35, and Champion Breweries grew by 9.71 per cent to N16.95.
Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance dipped by 7.42 per cent to N3.87, Royal Exchange lost 6.84 per cent to trade at N1.77, Omatek slipped by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, Eunisell depreciated by 5.88 per cent to N80.00, and Eterna dropped 5.63 per cent to close at N28.50.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.5 billion units worth N21.8 billion in 25,667 deals compared with the 839.8 million units sold for N32.8 billion in 23,211 deals in the preceding session, showing a surge in the trading volume by 76.61 per cent, an uptick in the number of deals by 10.58 per cent, and a shrink in the trading value by 33.54 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three stocks stretched the bearish run of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.21 per cent on Friday, December 19, with the market capitalisation giving up N26.01 billion to close at N2.121 billion compared with the N2.147 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropping 43.47 points to 3,546.41 points from 3,589.88 points.
The trio of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, and NASD Plc overpowered the gains printed by four other securities.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N6.00 to sell at N54.00 per unit versus N60.00 per unit, NASD Plc shrank by N3.50 to N58.50 per share from N55.00 per share, and CSCS Plc depleted by N2.91 to N33.87 per unit from N36.78 per unit.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc gained N1.01 to close at N13.00 per share versus N11.99 per share, Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 70 Kobo to N7.68 per unit from N6.98 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc added 39 Kobo to sell at N5.50 per share versus N5.11 per share, and IPWA Plc rose by 8 Kobo to 85 Kobo per unit from 77 Kobo per unit.
During the trading day, market participants traded 1.9 million securities versus the previous day’s 30.5 million securities showing a decline of 49.3 per cent. The value of trades went down by 64.3 per cent to N80.3 million from N225.1 million, but the number of deals jumped by 32.1 per cent to 37 deals from 28 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc finished the session as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was still InfraCredit Plc with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
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