The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will soon dispatch a mission to Nigeria to design scalable investment frameworks aimed at unlocking significant private capital into key sectors of the economy.
Managing Director of the IFC, Diop Makhtar, disclosed this on Thursday in Kigali, Rwanda, during a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the sidelines of the 13th Africa CEO Summit.
Makhtar, who led a delegation that included Ethiopis Tafara, IFC Regional Vice President for Africa, and Dahlia Khalifa, Director for Central Africa and Nigeria, said the mission would explore collaboration opportunities in energy, housing, and livestock production.
He commended Nigeria’s ongoing economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the exchange rate, describing them as bold and transformative steps that have strengthened investor confidence.
“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,” Makhtar said.
In response, President Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to attracting private capital for national development, stressing the need for African pension funds to evolve into strategic instruments for financing infrastructure and productive-sector investments.
He also called for deeper mobilisation of African institutional capital to drive infrastructure expansion, energy transition, and long-term economic transformation across the continent.
Tinubu noted that decentralising energy systems and strengthening transmission infrastructure were critical to unlocking private sector participation and enabling Africa’s industrialisation drive.
“If you want Africa to leapfrog, then energy transmission and decentralisation are important. The funding gap is there, and we must work together,” the President said.
Discussions at the meeting also focused on mechanisms such as local currency financing structures, institutional investor participation, and swap arrangements to deepen infrastructure funding.
Makhtar added that partnerships with African financial institutions, including banks like Access Bank, could support interstate financial integration, ease trade, and strengthen regional economic activity.
He described Africa’s development challenges as shared and called for a coordinated push toward what he termed an African renaissance anchored on strong institutions and regional economic champions.
