The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced plans to immediately send a mission to Nigeria to explore scalable investment structures capable of unlocking private capital into key sectors of the economy. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the Managing Director of the IFC, Makhtar Diop, made the announcement during a meeting with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the 13th Africa CEO Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday. Diop led an IFC delegation that included the Regional Vice President for Africa, Ethiopis Tafara, and the Director for Central Africa and Nigeria at the IFC, Dahlia Khalifa.
During the meeting, Diop said the IFC was interested in strengthening collaboration with Nigeria in critical sectors such as energy, housing and livestock production. READ ALSO: Tinubu, Kagame Agree To Deepen Bilateral Relations He also commended Tinubu for what he described as bold economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the harmonisation of the foreign exchange market.
According to him, the reforms have sent a strong signal to international investors about Nigeria’s commitment to difficult but necessary economic changes. “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,” Diop was quoted to have said.
He stressed that African leaders and the private sector must focus on mobilising institutional capital within the continent to finance infrastructure, energy transition and long-term economic transformation.