For the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), the year 2025 marked a defining phase in Nigeria’s economic repositioning under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
FMITI said the year 2025 remains remarkable when it comes to delivering critical reforms and results that deepened industrial capacity, expanded exports, and restored investor confidence.
Guided by the national vision, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment noted it executed a coordinated reform programme across investment attraction, trade expansion, export diversification, and institutional strengthening.
“Progress recorded in 2025 reflects strong collaboration across government agencies, the private sector, and development partners, translating policy intent into tangible and measurable economic outcomes,” FMITI noted while reviewing year 2025 as a defining year and expecting 2026 as one to build on the momentum.
The programmes of Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in the review year 2025 marked a decisive inflection point for Nigeria by restoring investor confidence, strengthening competitiveness, expanding exports, and laying the foundation for sustained and inclusive growth.
Export-led growth, diversification and inclusion…
Nigeria recorded strong progress in export-led growth and diversification in 2025. Non-oil exports grew by 21 percent, reaching $12.8 billion in H1 2025, nearly double the $6.5 billion target and contributing to a N12 trillion trade surplus during the same period. Overall trade value expanded by 14 percent, with further gains expected as trade facilitation reforms and logistics infrastructure continue to mature.
This performance reflects the cumulative impact of targeted trade reforms, improved export processes, and increased value addition across key sectors. Nigeria’s leading non-oil export commodities include cocoa and cocoa derivatives (butter and powder), sesame seeds, cashew nuts, shea butter, ginger, hibiscus flower, rubber, palm oil derivatives, fertilisers, cement and clinker, and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), FMITI strengthened national export capacity by training 27,352 exporters, certifying 200 MSMEs for international trade, and supporting 3,047 farmers through the distribution of hybrid seedlings. This also advanced inclusive trade through the Women Export Fund, which attracted over 67,000 applications and awarded grants to 146 women-led enterprises.
Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones generated over $500 million in export revenues and created more than 20,000 direct jobs, reinforcing their role as engines of export-led growth, industrialisation, and employment generation through the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA).
In food systems and traceability, FMITI has revitalised the Nigeria Commodity Exchange and launched the National Trade and Distribution Company with Afreximbank to support value-chain development and the traceable, structured trade of agricultural and mineral commodities.
In November 2025, Nigeria launched its Talent Accelerator Network, a part of the Global Network of Accelerators at the World Economic Forum, with four Co-Chairs providing leadership – two Private sector Co-Chairs (CEOs of Africa Finance Corporation and Flour Mills of Nigeria) and two Public Sector Co-Chairs (Honourable Ministers of Industry, Trade & Investment and Education) respectively. The Accelerator is focused on providing a Coordinated Action Plan to equip the local industry with the required skills and enable the digital export of excess capacity.
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Investment attraction and capital mobilisation…
Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the FMITI has recorded a decisive turnaround in investment attraction, responding strategically, rather than reactively, to global economic headwinds and clearly signalling that Nigeria is open for business.
In 2025, Nigeria significantly strengthened its investment facilitation architecture, transitioning from passive promotion to an active, systems-driven model that reduces information asymmetries, improves project visibility, and enhances the bankability of investment pipelines. As a result, four priority projects valued at $13.7 billion have progressed, representing a conversion rate of over 25 percent from the $50.8 billion in signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
Through structured deal origination, FMITI has proactively built a de-risked pipeline exceeding $5 billion across priority sectors. This execution-driven approach integrates narrative shaping, deal origination, curated deal rooms, and targeted roadshows, supporting investors from first engagement to firm commitment and converting opportunities into bankable projects.
Investor confidence was further reinforced in June 2025 when President Tinubu hosted several West African Presidents at the West Africa Economic Summit, where the Deal Room generated over $400 million in originated and showcased vetted investment deals, signalling renewed regional and global confidence in Nigeria’s economy.
Through proactive international investment promotion and high-level bilateral engagements with and missions to key economies including the United Kingdom, United States, France, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, Switzerland, China, Poland, Turkey, Brazil, Barbados, Algeria and Colombia the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment has deepened investment pipelines, reshaped investor perceptions, and strengthened Nigeria’s relevance and influence within global investment circles.
These engagements have delivered tangible gains, enhancing investor confidence, improving deal flow quality, and positioning Nigeria as a credible, reform-driven destination for long-term capital.
Investment retention and domestic capital…
In parallel with global investment promotion, the Federal Government is advancing deep investment-climate reforms to improve predictability, coordination, and investor confidence.
Complementing these reforms, the Ministry has rolled out a domestic investment retention and expansion strategy anchored on Nigerian capital, recognising that domestic investors are the first and most enduring vote of confidence in the economy.
Central to this approach was the hosting of Nigeria’s first-ever Domestic Investors Summit (DIS), a platform designed to reposition domestic investors not merely as beneficiaries of reform, but as co-architects of policy execution. The Summit moved beyond dialogue to action, introducing a live regulatory sandbox that enabled real-time issue triaging and resolution, strengthened feedback loops between investors and regulators, and translated macroeconomic reforms into firm-level outcomes. 75 percent of investor issues raised at the summit were resolved on the spot, and 100 percent were closed within 5 working days post-summit. This marked a structural shift from ad-hoc engagements to a repeatable execution model for resolving investment bottlenecks and accelerating reinvestment decisions.
Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment also led direct engagements and company visits across the country, supporting manufacturing, agro-processing, electric vehicles (EVs), and industrial clusters to resolve bottlenecks and to demonstrate that this administration is a listening government that partners with the private sector.
The Ministry continues sustained engagement through a structured, concierge-style support framework with Platinum Business Champions (PBCs), Nigeria’s top 23 companies generating over $1 billion annually, supporting expansion, export growth, and domestic reinvestment. Collectively, Nigerian firms remain the strongest proof point of confidence in the economy, anchoring job creation, diversification, and the crowd-in of long-term foreign investment.
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Intellectual property – digital, innovation and creative economy…
The Federal Executive Council approved the National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy (NIPPS), Nigeria’s first unified framework for protecting and commercialising intellectual property. Led jointly by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Ministry of Justice, with support from the Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy and other relevant innovation-related ministries, NIPPS transforms intellectual property into a bankable economic asset, strengthening creative value chains, expanding access to finance, and positioning Nigeria as a regional hub for creativity-driven investment and cultural exports.
Collectively, these reforms underscore the Federal Government’s commitment to a credible, competitive, and investor-friendly economy. Nigeria remains open for business, focused on sustaining investments that create jobs, build industries, and drive shared prosperity.