Nigeria

For the past decade Nigeria’s construction industry has remained lively despite the lack of federal building laws. Though a draft National Building Code (NBC) was introduced in 2006, the legislation has been stuck in government limbo since August of that year. As of early 2015, it had yet to be formally endorsed by the National Assembly. While most of Nigeria’s large...

In the last few years Nigeria’s real estate market has expanded rapidly, continuing a decade-long upward trend fuelled by rising per capita incomes, steadily increasing foreign direct investment (FDI), fast urbanisation and strong corporate demand. According to a January 2015 report by CBO Capital, the sector was valued at N6.4trn ($39bn) and growing at 10% a year. Even...

In January 2014, the Nigerian government announced its establishment of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), a state entity that will provide long-term, low-interest financing to local lenders, to encourage them to ramp up their mortgage offerings for end-users. The new firm is the latest in a long line of affordable housing initiatives the government has...

As the world’s fourth-largest producer of cocoa – a crop that may have greater importance on a global scale in the coming years due to a projected shortage – Nigeria has seen growing domestic yields in 2014, albeit at a smaller rate than expected. Cocoa farmers in the country face a number of challenges, including volatile weather, disease and pests, and export...