EBRD targets $1.5bn investments in Nigeria over three years

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has set a target of investing at least $1.5 billion in Nigeria over the next three years as it expands its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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The projection was disclosed by the EBRD’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Heike Harmgart, and the bank’s Country Director and Head of Nigerian operations, Hamza Al-Assad, during the official opening of the bank’s first office in Sub-Saharan Africa in Lagos on Friday.

The investment target follows the bank’s entry into Nigeria in October 2025, which highlights the financial institution’s confidence in the country’s private sector and investment potential.

The bank said similar offices will also be opened in other Sub-Sahara African countries including Kenya, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and Benin Republic.

Ms Harmgart said the bank had adopted a demand-driven investment approach and would continue to finance viable projects rather than work with predetermined 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.”

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Ms Harmgart noted that the bank had already committed about $280 million in Nigeria within its first year of operation, including $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 bank’s earliest transactions in Nigeria was a $100 million trade finance facility for Access Bank, aimed at improving access to finance for importers and exporters while supporting intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

According to Ms Harmgart, trade finance would remain one of the bank’s major instruments for strengthening trade across the continent.

The managing director said the investments will make trading activities much easier for importers and exporters in Nigeria to obtain pre-import financing and post-export financing.

She added that the bank was replicating similar trade finance initiatives across other African markets, building on investments it has made in North Africa over the past decade.

Trade financing

The EBRD boss said 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 official clarified that the bank’s investment model aligns with its broader strategy of promoting private sector development, noting that globally about 80 per cent of its financing goes to private businesses, financial institutions and investors, while the remaining 20 per cent is directed to public sector projects.

She added that the bank had invested roughly $500 million across its five new African markets (Sub-Sahara Africa) during its first year of operations.

Also speaking at the event, the bank’s Country Director, Mr Al-Assad said the Access Bank transaction marked the EBRD’s first financial institution partnership in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that discussions were ongoing with several other Nigerian lenders.

“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.

Diversified investment

Beyond banking, Mr Al-Assad said the EBRD planned to invest across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy, particularly infrastructure and energy.

The EBRD Head in Nigeria said the bank aims to respond to market needs including in mining, manufacturing, agribusiness and real estate sector.

He explained that the bank would also channel investments through commercial banks and investment funds while retaining the flexibility to finance government projects where they unlock private sector growth.

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

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“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 disclosed that Nigeria secured a fresh $100 million investment from EBRD to support Project Bridge, a nationwide digital connectivity initiative.

Referring to the Project Bridge investment, Mr Al-Assad described Nigeria as a market with exceptional potential, saying no single development finance institution could 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.