Nigeria Attracts $20.98bn in Foreign Capital in 10 Months

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said foreign capital inflows into Nigeria increased to $20.98 billion in the first ten months of 2025.

The amount represents a 70 per cent increase over total inflows recorded in 2024 and a 428 per cent jump from the $3.9 billion secured in 2023, reflecting a clear resurgence in investor confidence.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso who disclosed this in Lagos at the bankers dinner organised by Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), attributed the sharp rise to structural reforms that have restored “order, transparency, and true price discovery” in the foreign exchange market.

He said the renewed momentum signals a strong resurgence in investor confidence, supported by improved Forex operations, market liberalisation, and strengthened regulatory oversight.

The governor said in 2025, Nigeria’s external sector strengthened decisively with the current account balance rising over 85 per cent to $5.28 billion in second quarter, from $2.85 billion in the first quarter of this year, bolstering our external buffers, foreign reserves to reach $46.7 billion by mid-November, the highest in nearly seven years, providing over 10 months of forward import cover and significantly enhancing the economy’s resilience.

The Governor said what was most important in the growth trend was that the nation’s forex reserves are being rebuilt organically, not by borrowing, but through improved market functioning, stronger non-oil exports, and robust capital inflows.

He, however, said that while oil production improved modestly to an average of 1.45–1.52 million

barrels per day in 2025, the truly encouraging development was the strong performance of non-oil exports which Supported by ongoing reforms and greater exchange-rate flexibility, non-oil exports have grown by more than 18 per cent year-on-year, reflecting rising competitiveness under a truly market-driven forex framework.

He said diaspora remittances have also strengthened with confidence returning to official channels following enhancements in transparency, settlement efficiency, and reporting.

Remittances, according to him, increased by approximately 12 per cent this year, and we expect this momentum to continue as the Non-Resident BVN, launched earlier this year, becomes more widely adopted in 2026.

Cardoso described Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list as one of the country’s most significant achievements in 2025.

He noted that countries on the grey list typically experience a 7.6 per cent drop in GDP-equivalent capital inflows in the first year — translating to over $30 billion in potential losses for Nigeria.

“Exiting the list signals major restoration of confidence and eases compliance frictions for correspondent banks,” Cardoso said, adding that global financial institutions have welcomed the reform, citing improved access to international finance and smoother cross-border payments.

Making projections into the 2026 financial year, the governor said the CBN priorities is to strengthen the banking system, safeguard stability, protect depositors, and support credit growth through rigorous supervision and strong governance.

The apex bank planned to Deliver durable price stability, refine nation’s inflation-targeting framework and deploy advanced analytics to anchor expectations and lower inflation sustainably, modernising payments and promoting financial inclusion: expand contactless payments, and strengthen digital rails.

The apex regulators plans fostering responsible fintech innovation: support Fintech expansion while protecting consumers, strengthening cybersecurity, and safeguarding financial integrity. This includes enhanced data governance standards, stricter licensing requirements, and clearer guardrails for digital-asset experimentation.