EBRD targets $1.5bn investments in Nigeria over three years

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has set an ambitious target to invest a minimum of $1.5 billion in Nigeria over the next three years, signaling a significant expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa. This projection was revealed during the official inauguration of the bank's inaugural office in Sub-Saharan Africa, located in Lagos, Nigeria.

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We are very demand-driven, so we are working on projects as they come. We don’t have an envelope and say Nigeria will receive a specific amount this year.

EBRD's Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Heike Harmgart, and the bank's Country Director for Nigeria, Hamza Al-Assad, announced the investment goal. They emphasized a "demand-driven" approach, stating that the bank will finance viable projects as they arise rather than adhering to predetermined allocations. "If we have lots of good projects, we will do lots of investments," Harmgart explained, acknowledging that the bank is still in its early stages in Nigeria.

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If we have lots of good projects, we will do lots of investments. We still have to learn a lot because we’re new. We just opened the office and started hiring the team, so it will take some time.

Despite being new to the region, the EBRD has already committed approximately $280 million in Nigeria within its first year of operation. Harmgart expressed pride in the team's achievement, noting that $180 million was invested in the first half of the current year alone. The bank anticipates investing around $300 million by the end of the year, with the $1.5 billion over three years being an "estimate" based on pursuing opportunities.

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I’m personally very proud of Hamza and the team that we are already at $280 million, although we’ve only been here for less than a year, and already in the first half of this year have invested $180 million.

Trade finance is a key instrument for the EBRD's strategy in Nigeria and across Africa. One of its early transactions involved a $100 million trade finance facility for Access Bank, designed to boost finance access for importers and exporters and support intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Harmgart highlighted that such initiatives will simplify trading activities and are being replicated in other African markets.

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I think this year is looking good. We’re probably looking at around $300 million this year, but we don’t have a particular ceiling or target as such.