NIPC's CEO, Ms Yewande Sadiku, has said Nigeria is better placed than most African economies to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), citing Nigeria's domestic market manufacturing value-addition capacity at seven times the average of the top 20 African economies. She made this statement at the AfCFTA Sensitisation Seminar organised by the National Action Committee for the implementation of the agreement.
She addressed the broader challenge of Africa's marginal share of global capital: "Africa accounts for 3% of global FDI, and FDI flow post-COVID will be worse." She noted that countries which were the top five sources of FDI in 2019 were also the top destinations, and that while Africa is a source of outward FDI, Southern Africa accounts for 66% of Africa's outflows compared with West Africa's 1%. She highlighted that the highest periods of FDI inflows into Nigeria coincided with government-led reforms.
She cited data showing that Nigeria announced US$66 billion in investment in 2017 and US$90 billion in 2018, yet only realised US$3.5 billion and US$2 billion in actual FDI respectively — capturing less than 10% of announcements. "AfCFTA will help balance intra-African investments," she said, adding that Nigeria's large domestic market makes it an ideal gateway economy. She cited UBA, Dangote, GTBank, Interswitch and Paga as Nigerian companies with significant pan-African presence.
On policy recommendations, she urged that Nigeria must become an easier place to do business, aggressively encourage domestic direct investment, and aggregate social capital. She called for a coordinated effort by all MDAs to manage investor concerns, minimise job losses, and restore confidence — emphasising that "economies that provide the most comfort to investors will win" in the intensely competitive post-pandemic environment.
