Nigeria faces $31.5 billion financial shortfall required to take care of her Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a crisis compounded by severe macroeconomic instability.
Despite this huge shortfall, the nation maintains its position as the largest destination for impact investment in West Africa, according to the latest Nigeria Impact Investing Ecosystem Mapping and Market Sizing Report.
The report showed that Lagos and the Southwest region captured the vast majority of investment, accounting for between 65 per cent and 70 per cent of total capital flows. Its key highlights were presented at the 8th Annual Convening on Impact Investing in Lagos, with “Strengthening and Scaling the Nigerian Impact Economy,” as theme. It was organised by the Impact Investors Foundation (IIF).
According to the report, Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC) deals totaling approximately $3 billion across 404 transactions continue to concentrate in the fintech sector, although energy, agriculture, and education are emerging as growing frontiers.
Innovision Global Africa Regional Representative, Iffat Mahmud, citing the report, noted the scale of the challenge. “Nigeria has an estimated annual SDG financing need of $47.6 billion, with a financial shortfall of approximately $31.5 billion,” she said.
Mahmud explained that while the country attracts the most private capital on the continent, the environment for deploying it remains tenuous. “The investment climate is significantly hampered by FX volatility, with approximately 65 per cent depreciation since 2023, high inflation averaging about 28 per cent in 2025, and a shallow market for long-term investments,” she stated.
A core issue identified by the report is the failure to leverage domestic funds. “The domestic pension and insurance sector, which controls a vast ₦23.3 trillion in Assets Under Management (AUM), currently allocates less than 0.3 per cent to impact assets, leaving domestic private capital critically under-mobilised,” Mahmud added.
While fintech dominates the $3 billion PE/VC landscape, the report named health, education, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as the most underfunded SDGs by impact capital.
To close the financing gap, the report urges the implementation of a National Policy Framework for Impact Investing and sets a clear target for domestic capital mobilisation—securing commitments to channel between ₦100billion and ₦200 billion in local currency impact funds through blended finance vehicles, including plans to launch new green and gender bond windows between 2026 and 2027. “The goal should be to secure commitments to channel ₦100–₦200 billion in LCY impact funds via blended vehicles,” Mahmud said.
He sought unlocking of large pools of local institutional capital for development.
IIF Chief Executive Officer, Etemore Glover, said the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Roadmap 2025–2035, aims to mobilise $8 billion in gender-inclusive capital for Nigeria over the next decade.
According to Glover, the ambitious 10-year blueprint would fundamentally reshape Nigeria’s investment landscape by prioritising women, youth, and the country’s 35 million persons with disabilities (PwDs). The GESI Roadmap, developed in collaboration with PwC Nigeria, is a data-driven framework designed to embed inclusive investment practices directly into the heart of Nigeria’s economy. Its core financial target is to secure $8 billion in cumulative gender-inclusive capital by 2035, with $1.5 billion expected to come from domestic sources to ensure local ownership and sustainability.
“The GESI Roadmap is not just a plan; it’s a blueprint for a significant shift in Nigeria’s economy. The scale of the targets underscores our profound commitment to a future where no one is left behind. Gender-lens investing is not philanthropy disguised as finance; it is smart economics—a powerful, decade-long course to democratise capital and transform our investment landscape for women, youth, and, critically, our 35 million people with disabilities.”
The Chairman IIF, Frank Aigbogun, described the forum as “Nigeria’s leading platform for driving conversations, building partnerships, and mobilising action towards a more inclusive and sustainable economy.” He noted the global shifts that make this focus critical. “We see global aid and concessional funding declining in an environment where the need for this is indeed expanding,” he said.
Aigbogun highlighted the unique potential of impact investment. “In this environment, impact investment stands out as a powerful frontier—one that bridges purpose and profit, giving investors the opportunity to do well while doing good.”
He described the growing acceptance of the dual objective of seeking returns while positively impacting society as “quite interesting.”
To strengthen the ecosystem, Aigbogun reaffirmed IIF’s commitment to advancing the GESI Roadmap and supporting the design of the World Served Impact Investment Fund to mobilise large-scale planned finance for local enterprises. “It is, in our view, an object of hope for all of us to begin to focus on mobilising domestic capital. It is good for our foreign partners to be involved, but it is no longer enough for us to depend only on them,” he added.
The Country Director , UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Ms. Oyinkansola Akintola Bello emphasised the need for Nigeria to catalyse its own capital for investment, particularly in ventures that deliver both profit and positive social or environmental outcomes. She described the event as a strategic platform for policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs to collaboratively shape new pathways using e-capital—or impact investing—to scale the economy sustainably.
“We need to catalyse our own capital; we can’t rely too much on our sources because those sources are very fragile,” Ms. Bello said. Bello affirmed the UK’s role as a reliable partner to Nigeria, underscoring its commitment to fostering an inclusive ecosystem.
The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) also underscored the critical need to make finance not only available but accessible to support the transformation of Nigeria’s agricultural sector. In a goodwill message, the agency highlighted the importance of strong partnerships and supportive policies.
The Cluster Coordinator, Transformation of Agrifood Systems Cluster and Head of the EU-VACE TARED Programme, Dr. Andrea Ruediger, represented by the Finance and Investment Business Advisor, with the project Mr. Ojeifo Chukwueku reiterated the EU’s commitment through the EU Support to Agriculture Value Chain Facility (EU-VACE TARED) Programme to transform Nigeria’s agricultural system for rural economic development.
According to Chukwueku, the EU-VACE TARED Programme supports four key value chains—cocoa, dairy, tomatoes, and ginger—aiming to strengthen sustainable agriculture and foster inclusive growth across these sectors. He highlighted GIZ’s partnership with IIF to deepen innovative financing mechanisms such as blended finance and green bonds to attract diverse capital toward sustainable agricultural ventures.
He added that the initiative is actively promoting gender inclusion and data-driven solutions designed to help investors better assess impact and manage risk in the agricultural space.
A major highlight of the convening was the unveiling of the 2025 Impact Investing Ecosystem Mapping and Market Sizing Report by the IIF underscoring Nigeria’s growing role as the regional hub for impact investment and inclusive economic transformation.
