Vice-President Kashim Shettima has pitched Nigeria’s $200 billion energy transition opportunity to global investors, saying the country is strategically positioned as the natural hub for the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) $3.4 trillion market.
Speaking 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, Shettima said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was transforming Nigeria’s economy and attracting new investor commitments.
Highlighting Nigeria’s scale and potential, Shettima described the country as West Africa’s largest economy and Africa’s biggest consumer market, with a population of 236 million projected to rise to 320 million by 2040. With a median age of 17 and more than half the population under 30, he said Nigeria is home to “one of the deepest talent pools in the world.”
According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima listed Nigeria’s 44 distinct natural resources, its five tech unicorns, the continent’s largest oil reserves and 210 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves as evidence of the country’s competitive advantage.
Since mid-2023, he said, Nigeria has unified its exchange rates, removed decades-old fuel subsidies, modernised tax and customs regimes and overhauled trade and investment policies. These measures, along with the implementation of AfCFTA and other structural reforms, are already boosting GDP growth, strengthening external reserves and moderating inflation.
He noted that Fitch and Moody’s had both upgraded Nigeria’s credit ratings this year, citing improved economic buffers and clearer policy direction, while investor commitments were rebounding.
Shettima also detailed a new four-pillar incentives framework designed to cut investor risk and accelerate cash returns. These include 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 were cutting post-harvest losses by up to 40 per cent, linking farmers directly to processing and export hubs, and transforming Nigeria into a continent-scale food system serving millions across West Africa.
Turning to energy, Shettima disclosed that Nigeria’s 210 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and abundant solar resources offer a $200 billion energy transition opportunity. He said fiscal incentives and VAT waivers are de-risking investment in traditional and renewable energy, from gas-fired independent power plants to off-grid solar and clean hydrogen pilots.
He told investors: “With our location, resources and reforms, Nigeria is the natural hub for the AfCFTA’s $3.4 trillion market.”
