- Shettima pitched Nigeria’s $200 billion energy transition and AfCFTA hub’s potential to global investors, highlighting vast resources, reforms, and a young talent pool.
- He showcased fiscal incentives, structural reforms, and credit upgrades as proof that Nigeria is attracting fresh investor commitments and driving economic growth.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima pitched Nigeria’s $200 billion energy transition opportunity to global investors, positioning the country as the natural hub for the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) $3.4 trillion market.
He spoke at a roundtable hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) in New York on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, highlighting how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is transforming Nigeria’s economy and attracting new investments.
In addition, Shettima showcased Nigeria’s scale and potential, calling it West Africa’s largest economy and Africa’s biggest consumer market. With 236 million people projected to reach 320 million by 2040 and a median age of 17, Nigeria houses “one of the deepest talent pools in the world.” He pointed to the country’s 44 natural resources, five tech unicorns, the continent’s largest oil reserves, and 210 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves as key competitive advantages.
He outlined recent reforms that strengthen the economy, including unified exchange rates, removal of long-standing fuel subsidies, modernised tax and customs regimes, and overhauled trade and investment policies. These reforms boost GDP growth, strengthen reserves, moderate inflation, and restore investor confidence. Fitch and Moody’s upgraded Nigeria’s credit ratings this year, citing improved economic buffers and clearer policy direction.
Meanwhile, Shettima introduced a four-pillar incentives framework to reduce investor risk and accelerate returns. It also offers a simpler tax regime with capital allowances and export-linked rebates, duty-free imports and rent concessions in Special Economic Zones, and updated bilateral investment treaties with structured repatriation pathways to protect capital and profits.
On agriculture, he said Special Agro-Industrial Zones cut post-harvest losses by up to 40 per cent, link farmers to processing and export hubs, and transform Nigeria into a continent-scale food system for West Africa.
Meanwhile, highlighting energy, Shettima emphasised that Nigeria’s gas reserves and abundant solar resources create a $200 billion opportunity. Fiscal incentives and VAT waivers de-risk investments in gas-fired independent power plants, off-grid solar, and clean hydrogen projects.
“With our location, resources, and reforms, Nigeria stands as the natural hub for the AfCFTA’s $3.4 trillion market,” Shettima told investors.