The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will send a mission to Nigeria to explore scalable investment opportunities in livestock, energy and housing following talks with President Bola Tinubu in Kigali.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced plans to send a mission to Nigeria to explore scalable investment opportunities capable of unlocking private capital in the livestock, energy and housing sectors.
The Managing Director of the IFC, Makhtar Diop, disclosed this on Thursday during a meeting with Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Summit in Kigali.
The IFC delegation included Ethiopis Tafara and Dahlia Khalifa.
According to Diop, the corporation is interested in discussing modalities for collaboration with Nigeria in strategic sectors such as energy, housing and livestock production.
He commended President Tinubu for implementing major economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the harmonisation of the foreign exchange market.
Diop described the reforms as courageous and transformative, noting that they had sent strong signals to international investors about Nigeria’s commitment to implementing difficult but necessary economic policies.
“President Tinubu, you have been so courageous in removing the subsidy. When you did it, I said to myself, President Tinubu took the bull by the horns,” Diop stated.
During the meeting, Bola Ahmed Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to leveraging private capital for institutional and infrastructural development.
The President stressed the need for African pension funds to evolve into strategic development finance instruments capable of supporting infrastructure projects and investments in productive sectors.
He also urged African leaders and private sector players to focus on mobilising institutional capital within the continent to finance infrastructure, energy transition and long-term economic transformation.
According to Tinubu, such efforts are critical to accelerating development across Africa and addressing the continent’s socio-economic challenges.
The President further emphasised the importance of decentralising energy systems and strengthening transmission infrastructure to attract more private-sector investment.
“If you want Africa to leapfrog, then energy transmission and decentralisation are important. The funding gap is there, and we must work together,” Tinubu said.
The meeting also explored mechanisms for deepening infrastructure financing through institutional investors, local currency financing arrangements and swap structures.
Makhtar Diop noted that local currency facilities and banking partnerships involving Nigerian financial institutions such as Access Bank could help strengthen interstate financial integration, ease trade and improve business activities across Africa.
He added that African countries faced similar development challenges and must collectively pursue what he described as an “African Renaissance” driven by strong regional institutions and economic champions.
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