Capital Inflows Hit $21bn as Nigeria Intensifies Trade Strategy
The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment has unveiled plans to deepen trade facilitation and tighten policy execution in 2026, following a sharp rebound in capital inflows and export performance in 2025.
According to the FMITI Outlook 2026, the ministry will focus on sustaining reform momentum while strengthening implementation frameworks to translate consolidation into sustained growth, exports, and jobs.
The Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said 2025 marked a turning point in Nigeria’s trade and investment trajectory.
“As we reflect on 2025, we recognise it as an inflection point in Nigeria’s trade, investment, and industrial journey, marked by deliberate execution, renewed confidence, and a Nigeria First approach to building a credible export economy,” Oduwole said.
She said total capital importation reached approximately $21bn in the first ten months of 2025, up from $12.3bn in 2024 and $3.9bn in 2023, reflecting renewed investor confidence anchored on policy execution.
“Investment outcomes reflected this execution focus. Total capital importation reached approximately $21bn in the first ten months of 2025, up from $12.3bn in 2024 and $3.9bn in 2023,” Oduwole said.
She added that the ministry curated a pipeline of over $5bn in bankable projects; undertook more than 150 bilateral and investor engagements; convened five deal rooms and sector roundtables, including a Domestic Investor Summit; and tracked over $50bn in signed commitments from presidential engagements, with about 25 per cent progressing towards implementation.
“Targeted engagements supported the resolution of around 50 investor bottlenecks, accelerating timelines from commitment to execution,” Oduwole said.
Speaking on trade performance, she said Nigeria recorded total trade of N113.03tn between Q1 and Q3 2025, with exports of N66.16tn, representing over 11 per cent year-on-year growth and sustaining a positive trade balance.
“These outcomes were driven by the gazetting of Nigeria’s AfCFTA tariff schedule, the launch of an air cargo corridor to East and Southern Africa, and targeted support to over 100 MSMEs for export certification and market readiness,” Oduwole said.
She added that the interventions helped non-oil exports exceed $6bn, up 11 per cent year on year; reduced freight costs for time-sensitive exports by about 50 per cent; and cut export processing timelines to under 24 hours.
The ministry stated that its 2026 strategy will rest on four pillars: unlocking global and regional demand through trade facilitation; strengthening domestic supply of exports; mobilising investment through policy coherence and execution; and leveraging data, digital infrastructure and strategic communications.
Under its 2026 priorities, the ministry will conduct a National MSME Census, launch a Made-in-Nigeria national campaign, drive industrial cluster development, support women-led businesses with long-term finance, transform the cotton, textile and garment value chain, deploy AI and digital industrial governance tools, review privatised industries, and convene an Industrial Revolution Working Group ministerial roundtable.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Nura Rimi, said the ministry strengthened internal systems and inter-agency coordination to improve delivery outcomes in 2025.
He said, “In 2025, the Ministry continued to discharge its mandate to drive industrialisation, promote trade, attract investment, and support economic diversification, with emphasis on effective implementation, institutional coordination, and operational discipline across departments and agencies.”
He added that the ministry streamlined export processes, upgraded ICT platforms, strengthened accountability mechanisms, and improved collaboration with agencies, the private sector and development partners to ensure policies translated into coordinated action.
“These institutional linkages provided greater clarity and consistency for manufacturers, businesses, and investors interacting with government processes,” Rimi said.
The Minister of State for Industry, John Enoh, said the industrial sector delivered measurable impact under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s real GDP expanded 3.98 per cent in Q3 2025, outpacing the same period in 2024, driven by broad-based activity across non-oil sectors, including manufacturing and industrial output,” Enoh said.
He added that the adoption of the Nigerian Industrial Policy 2025–2035 provided a unified framework for value chain development, competitiveness, inclusion and disciplined execution.
“The industry’s real contribution to growth not only reinforces confidence in Nigeria’s economic renewal but also positions 2026 as the year the ‘Nigeria First’ sentiment matures from patriotic slogan into measurable economic reality, fuelled by structural reforms and execution-focused under the ministry’s coordinated agenda,” Enoh said.
He outlined five lessons from 2025, including the need for strong execution architecture, industry-led engagement, reliable MSME data, coordinated action across agencies and states, and deliberate support for women-led enterprises facing financing constraints.
With capital importation rising sharply and trade reforms gaining traction, the Federal Government said it will consolidate gains in 2026 by deepening trade facilitation, strengthening domestic production capacity and enforcing disciplined policy implementation across all levels of government.