The Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole says Nigeria recorded $21 billion in capital importation in the first 10 months of 2025 — up from $12 billion in 2024.
Oduwole spoke on Wednesday while appearing before the house of representatives joint committee on commerce, industry, and small and medium enterprises (SME) to defend the ministry’s 2026 budget proposal.
Capital importation is the inflow of funds from abroad to finance investment, trade, and manufacturing within a country.
Addressing the panel, Oduwole said in 2025, the ministry focused on translating policy into real economic activity through greater coordination, engagement, and practical facilitation.
“On investment, Nigeria recorded total capital importation of approximately $21 billion in the first ten months of 2025, up from about $12 billion in 2024 and under $4 billion in 2023,” the minister said.
Oduwole attributed the rebound to targeted investment facilitation efforts by the ministry, including “the curation of over $5 billion in bankable projects, sector-specific deal rooms, and Nigeria’s inaugural domestic investors’ summit”.
“These activities helped re-engage domestic capital and facilitated the resolution of about 50 investor bottlenecks, driving projects from intention to implementation,” she said.
The former special adviser said the ministry also undertook more than 100 bilateral investment engagements, both domestically and internationally, with “new friends” such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Brazil, and Japan, as well as with older strategic relationships, including the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK).
She said the Nigeria-UK economic and trade partnership, which commenced in the second quarter of 2024, contributed significantly to inflows, noting that UK investors accounted for about 65 percent of Nigeria’s foreign capital inflows in 2025.
On trade performance, the minister said Nigeria recorded total trade valued at approximately N113 trillion in the first three quarters (nine months) of the year.
“On trade and exports, Nigeria recorded a trade surplus in 2025, with total trade valued at approximately N113 trillion in the first three quarters of the year. Exports grew by about 11 percent year-on-year to approximately $6.1 billion — the highest ever in both value and volume,” she said.
Outlining the 2026 agenda, Oduwole said the ministry’s priorities are anchored in the national development plan and key policy frameworks, including Nigeria’s trade policy (2023-2027), the Nigerian investment policy (2023-2027), and the Nigerian industrial policy (2025-2035).
She added that the ministry would focus on implementing these frameworks to deepen industrialisation, boost non-oil exports, and strengthen Nigeria’s investment climate.
