By Ayomide Otitoju
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has pledged support for Investopedia, a new digital platform launched by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) to attract investments and close Nigeria’s widening infrastructure gap.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Afreximbank’s Director of Client Relations for Anglophone West Africa, Peter Olowononi, described the initiative as a roadmap connecting Nigeria’s 36 states to both African and global capital.
He reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to subnational growth through programmes such as the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET), which has already facilitated more than $2 billion in trade and investment deals.
“Development must be decentralised. It must begin in cities, provinces, and regions, and flow outward to shape national and continental progress,” Olowononi said.
NGF Director-General, Abdulateef Shittu, noted that Nigeria’s annual foreign investment inflows of about $2 billion account for less than 0.5 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He stressed that with an infrastructure financing gap estimated at $100 billion annually — and nearly $1 trillion over the next decade — new tools like Investopedia were essential to unlock private capital at scale.
Shittu added that states had collectively budgeted more than ₦17.5 trillion for capital projects in 2025, underscoring their commitment to infrastructure and social services. However, he pointed out that financing constraints and fragmented entry points often discourage large-scale investor participation.
