EBRD plans to invest $1.5 billion in Nigeria over three years

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is looking to invest at least $1.5 billion in Nigeria over the next three years. This is part of the bank's plan to expand in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Heike Harmgart, the EBRD’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, and Hamza Al-Assad, the bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, shared this news during the opening of the bank’s first office in Lagos on Friday.

This investment target comes after the bank entered Nigeria in October 2025. It shows the bank’s trust in Nigeria’s private sector and its investment potential.

The EBRD also plans to open offices in other Sub-Saharan African countries like Kenya, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and Benin Republic.

Ms Harmgart mentioned that the bank will focus on demand-driven investments. They aim to finance projects that show potential instead of sticking to fixed budget allocations in Nigeria.

"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.

"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," she said.

Ms Harmgart also highlighted that the bank has already committed around $280 million in Nigeria within its first year. This includes $180 million invested in the first half of the year.

"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.

"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.

"We want to pursue as many opportunities as possible. Over the next three years, our expectation is that we would do a minimum total of $1.5 billion, but again, that’s an estimate," Ms Harmgart said.

One of the earliest transactions in Nigeria was a $100 million trade finance facility for Access Bank. This aims to improve access to finance for importers and exporters and support intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ms Harmgart stated that trade finance will remain a key tool for boosting trade across the continent. She said the investments will make it easier for importers and exporters in Nigeria to get pre-import and post-export financing.

She also mentioned that the bank is repeating similar trade finance projects in other African countries, building on what it has done in North Africa over the past ten years.

"Trade finance is one of the big instruments through which we hope to support local importers and exporters to access financing for their trading businesses.

"One of the very first deals we signed in Nigeria was a $100 million trade finance line with Access Bank that will help Access Bank access other banks on the continent as confirming banks and other global banks.

"Next week we’re going to sign a trade finance project with Ecobank in Senegal, and we’ve also just approved a major trade finance transaction for KCB in Kenya," she said.

The EBRD's investment model matches its goal of promoting private sector growth. About 80 percent of its funding goes to private businesses and financial institutions. The remaining 20 percent goes to public sector projects.

Ms Harmgart added that the bank has invested around $500 million across its five new African markets in its first year of operations.

Mr Al-Assad, the bank’s Country Director, noted that the Access Bank deal was the EBRD’s first partnership with a financial institution in Sub-Saharan Africa. He said they are in talks with several other banks in Nigeria.

"Access Bank is our first financial institution client, not only in Nigeria but in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are speaking to a large number of banks. Initially, our focus is on trade finance products and some senior debt opportunities.

"We’re engaging with the vast majority of the banking universe here, starting with Tier-1 and some Tier-2 banks. As we grow our team and presence, we expect to work with a much larger segment of Nigeria’s banking industry," Mr Al-Assad said.

Beyond banking, Mr Al-Assad mentioned that the EBRD is set to invest in various sectors of Nigeria's economy, especially infrastructure and energy.

He said the bank aims to meet market needs in mining, manufacturing, agribusiness, and real estate.

"Our focus in Nigeria is on areas where we see strong opportunities. Infrastructure is a major one, whether physical infrastructure, municipal infrastructure, or energy.

"Another is the corporate sector, including food and agribusiness along the full value chain, real estate, natural resources, mining, manufacturing, and services," he said.

In February, the Minister of Communication, Innovative and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, revealed that Nigeria got a fresh $100 million investment from EBRD to support Project Bridge, a nationwide digital connectivity initiative.

Mr Al-Assad described Nigeria as a market full of potential. He said no single development finance institution can meet the country’s investment needs alone.

"Although our mandate is private sector-focused, we can lend to governments on a sovereign basis, as we did with the Project Bridge fibre-optic programme, and we can also work with subnational governments depending on their financial standing.

"The scale of opportunity in Nigeria is really special, and no one would be able to cover it alone. We all need to chip in. We need to encourage both local and international investors to come in because the opportunities here are enormous," Mr Al-Assad added.