Nigeria’s Capital Market Key to Closing $100 Billion Infrastructure Gap, Says SEC

Nigeria is actively repositioning its capital market as a central driver for economic growth and infrastructure development, targeting a staggering $100 billion funding gap. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) aims to reduce reliance on traditional bank financing by channeling idle liquidity into productive sectors, making the capital market a strategic engine for long-term national development.

The SEC’s Director General, Emomotimi Agama, highlighted the initiative during his keynote at the Emerging Africa Capital Limited Investor Summit & Awards. He explained that the move comes amid global economic disruptions, which triggered over $80 billion in portfolio outflows from emerging markets between 2022 and 2024. While these outflows present risks, Agama emphasized that they also create unique investment opportunities for countries like Nigeria.

Agama described the global economy as undergoing a “fundamental structural reconfiguration,” where old certainties such as stable dollar flows and predictable commodity cycles no longer apply. “For emerging markets, this is simultaneously a moment of acute vulnerability and extraordinary opportunity,” he said. With Nigeria’s population exceeding 220 million and an infrastructure deficit estimated at over $100 billion, he stressed that a robust capital market is not a luxury but an economic necessity.

The SEC is promoting a range of financial instruments to unlock investment across key sectors, including infrastructure bonds, green bonds, sukuk, and private equity frameworks. Agama pointed to opportunities in Nigeria’s underexploited solid minerals sector, the unbanked population of over 350 million adults, and critical areas like energy, transportation, and housing. Strengthening these instruments, he noted, will improve capital allocation and stimulate sustainable economic growth.

As part of a broader reform agenda, the SEC is upgrading market infrastructure, introducing innovative products, enhancing governance and transparency, and increasing investor protection. The goal is to attract both domestic and foreign long-term capital while integrating Nigeria more closely into global financial markets. With macroeconomic reforms underway and a young, growing population, Nigeria’s capital market is being positioned as the linchpin for financing the country’s infrastructure and driving inclusive economic growth.

source: nairametrics