Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) is expanding investments in infrastructure, healthcare and energy as it seeks to catalyse private capital and support President Bola Tinubu’s ambition to grow the economy to $1 trillion.
Abraham Durosawo, vice president NSIA said the fund is scaling up deployments across key sectors while positioning itself as a cornerstone investor to crowd in additional financing.
He spoke at the 2025 annual general meeting of the Financial Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Abuja, where he represented Managing Director Aminu Umar-Sadiq.
“It is the collective effort of all of us that will achieve this $1 trillion economy that we all aspire to,” Durosawo said.
Established in 2011 and operational since 2012 with an initial seed capital of $1 billion, the sovereign fund has grown its assets to more than $3 billion, according to Durosawo.
The authority manages three ring-fenced funds: a Future Generations Fund for long-term savings, a Stabilisation Fund designed to support the government in times of economic stress, and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund, which focuses on domestic infrastructure investments.
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The Stabilisation Fund was tapped during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the authority deployed $150 million to support government interventions. The larger focus now, Durosawo said, is using the infrastructure vehicle to unlock growth and attract institutional investors wary of project risks.
“If you think about the problem of infrastructure in Nigeria, the only money we have is a drop in the ocean,” he said. “So what we do is position our money as a catalyst for other investors to join and invest in Nigeria.”
Nigeria faces an infrastructure deficit running into tens of billions of dollars annually, according to multilateral lenders. Durosawo said the NSIA is working with partners including the World Bank and other development finance institutions to mobilise additional capital, including a platform expected to raise about $1 billion for domestic infrastructure projects.
The authority has already backed or delivered several high-profile projects, including the second Niger Bridge, completed after decades of delays, and sections of the Abuja-Kano highway. It also financed the Lagos-Ibadan expressway rehabilitation and other federal road projects, Durosawo said, pointing to visible assets as proof of execution capacity.
In power, the fund has built a 10-megawatt solar plant and is constructing a 30-megawatt gas-fired plant in Lagos expected to come on stream by year-end. It has also launched a distributed renewable energy platform in partnership with Africa50 and other investors, targeting more than $100 million in initial capital to expand electricity access in underserved areas.
Beyond direct investments, NSIA has set up financial structures to mobilise local capital. InfraCredit, a credit enhancement vehicle backed by the authority, has helped raise more than 200 billion naira from domestic pension funds and asset managers by providing guarantees that lift infrastructure bonds to investment-grade ratings. Nigeria’s pension industry manages roughly N27 trillion in assets but has historically allocated only a small portion to long-term infrastructure.
In healthcare, the sovereign fund is rolling out a network of oncology and diagnostic centres to reduce outbound medical tourism. Centres are operational at Lagos University Teaching Hospital and in Kano and Abia states, with additional facilities launched last year in Edo, Katsina and elsewhere. The plan is to build 26 centres nationwide.
Durosawo also highlighted a newly launched $50 million co-investment fund with the Japanese government aimed at financing innovative projects in Nigeria. In agriculture, the authority played a role in the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, supporting the revival of blending plants across the country. More than 90 plants are now operational, he said, helping to improve fertiliser availability and food security.
A related project under development involves an ammonia and fertiliser plant in partnership with Moroccan entities, leveraging Nigeria’s natural gas reserves and Morocco’s phosphate resources. The goal is to produce fertiliser locally for domestic use and export, generating foreign exchange earnings.
Durosawo said recent macroeconomic reforms — including exchange-rate adjustments, rising foreign reserves and a moderation in inflation — are helping to stabilise the investment climate. The central bank’s latest interest-rate cut of 50 basis points signals further policy support for growth, he recalled.
Over its 13 years of operations, NSIA has reported profitability each year, allowing it to reinvest returns and expand its balance sheet. “Over the last 13 years, we have been profitable every year,” he said, noting that assets have grown from the initial $1 billion to more than $3 billion.
While the fund’s capital remains modest relative to Nigeria’s infrastructure needs, Durosawo argued that its role as an anchor investor and structuring partner is key to attracting global and domestic financing. “Doing is better than a thousand speeches,” he said, adding that visible project delivery strengthens the case for further investment.
He reiterated that as Africa’s most populous nation works to diversify away from oil and accelerate growth, the sovereign wealth fund is positioning itself at the centre of that effort — deploying patient capital domestically while partnering with international investors to narrow the financing gap and advance President Bola Tinubu’s $1 trillion economic quest.
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