Economy

Nigeria faced new economic headwinds in 2020. While the country’s growth has traditionally been stymied by issues such as electricity shortages, bureaucracy and a lack of transparency, the pandemic added a new set of challenges. GDP contracted by 1.9% in 2020, reversing a three-year period of consistent – albeit moderate – expansion. Youth unemployment, a long-standing challenge for Nigeria, was also exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. Nonetheless, the Nigerian economy remains diversified, with the non-oil sector accounting for 90.8% of real GDP in the first quarter of 2021. Moreover, concerted efforts have laid the groundwork for a post-pandemic economic rebound, and the IMF projects that GDP growth will recover and expand through to 2025.

This chapter contains interviews with Yewande Sadiku, Executive Secretary and Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission; and Jumoke Oduwole, Special Business Adviser to the President.