Nigeria

Looking to continue its trend of major capital expenditures, the Nigerian government is planning a debut international bond sale. However, the country’s debt portfolio has reached an all-time high, and some are cautioning that Nigeria scale back borrowing.

Nigeria’s government is intervening to address understaffing at public universities following concerns over funding levels, while the private sector is also being bolstered to meet the country’s educational needs.

Nigeria’s once vibrant textile industry has all but disappeared in recent years under competition from cheaper foreign goods. However, strengthening the real sector of the economy is a central component of the government’s plan to diversify away from hydrocarbons. A large-scale funding programme is in the works to bail out textile companies and promote the manufacturing sector as a whole.

Nigeria’s access to the internet has long been hampered by a shortage of bandwidth, but a trio of new undersea cables is set to greatly improve the country’s connectivity. The first of these went active in July, promising cheaper and more reliable access for the Nigerian market.

After months of debate, the country’s House of Representatives and Senate passed a bill in late March establishing the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), a parastatal agency that will buy up NPLs from the country’s struggling banks in order to free up their balance sheets, restore investor confidence and make them attractive to capital or buyers.