Nigeria

As manufacturers scour the globe for new growth opportunities, few markets offer greater long-term potential than Nigeria, which boasts an enormous domestic population, plentiful feedstock and limited market penetration. The total value of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector increased 7.55% in 2012, reaching N761bn ($4.8bn) at current base prices, up from N634bn ($3.9bn) in 2011. A globally...

The largest contributor to Nigeria’s GDP, the agriculture sector accounted for a 40.1% share as of mid-2013, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. It is also the main source of employment in the country, responsible for more than 60% of jobs, as per figures from the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Increases in the amount of cultivated land have led to a rise in...

Electricity is regularly cited as Nigeria’s chief obstacle to economic growth, but 2013 may mark a turning point for what is often referred to as the country’s Achilles heel. For more than a decade, the lack of reliable power has cut into profit margins and increased operating overheads. Under-investment and mismanagement are generally accepted as being among several primary causes of the power...

In 2011 Nigeria had the world’s 10th-largest oil reserves, at 37.2bn barrels, and the ninth-largest reserves of associated gas, at 182trn standard cu feet. Yet as the country’s proven reserves of both oil and gas start to decline, the imperative will be to clarify the industry’s long-term legal and fiscal outlooks to encourage more investment in exploration and production. Despite legislative...

With a total premium value of $1.6bn in 2011, Nigeria’s insurance market is the biggest in West Africa, but in a wider context the market remains relatively undeveloped and coverage in the retail market is mostly limited to motor insurance. Issues including prohibitive costs, inconsistent enforcement of mandatory coverage, fake insurers and policies damaging the sector’s reputation, and a...

Following a significant overhaul of the sector in 2012, Nigerian banks recorded their strongest performance since the onset of the banking crisis in 2009. The central bank has seized on recent bank restructuring to implement broader structural reforms aimed at safeguarding against future crises. Nigeria boasts a diverse financial sector. In contrast to most other sub-Saharan markets, foreign...