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Nigeria presents considerable potential to return high yields on investment in the manufacturing industry. The administration has introduced a range of incentives to launch and broaden activities in various manufacturing segments, including agro-processing, biofuels, cement and automobiles. Coupled with the country’s broad resource base, the large and growing working-age population and the government’s renewed commitment to diversifying the economy through industrial development, conditions are right to achieve the ambitious output, employment and export rates proposed in plans like the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan. As for the mining sector, home to abundant, untapped reserves, and increasingly the focus of pro-business policies, the sector is poised for robust near and midterm growth as investors move to capitalise on opportunities in iron ore, gold, zinc and lead, among others. This chapter contains an interview with Jean-Marc Ricca, Managing Director, BASF West Africa; and a roundtable with Chris McAllister, Managing Director, British American Tobacco Nigeria and West Africa; Ben Langat, Managing Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria; and Yaw Nsarkoh, Executive Vice-President Ghana and Nigeria, Unilever.

Access to power remains one of Nigeria’s chief economic and social issues, with about 90m citizens lacking access to electricity, while the World Bank estimates per capita usage is lower in just eight other countries. Indeed, as the biggest domestic market in Africa, the country has great potential for manufacturing, but most investment in the sector tends to prioritise a steady and reliable supply of power. The 2017 Power Sector Recovery Programme is providing a series of reforms aimed at prioritising investment, restructuring the sector and re-evaluating problems related to payment and tariffs. Alongside this, the development of new sources of energy, progress of independent power producers, local control of regional grid development, and funding to upgrade and expand the existing network are generating opportunities going forward. This chapter contains an interview with Ladi Sanni, CEO, Viathan Engineering.

With an abundant supply of natural resources, Nigeria’s oil and gas sector plays a key role in global energy. Its oil deposits have been a major source of crude for decades, while its less developed natural gas fields offer resources that have yet to be fully tapped. In addition to being a traditional heavyweight in terms of output, the energy sector is also notable for its early success in building local content in upstream activity. Policy moves over the past two decades have enabled young firms to acquire and develop oil and gas blocks, build pipelines and distribution networks, and, based on the current project pipeline, refineries as well. However, there is still room for improvement, Nigeria’s midstream infrastructure is lacking, and while this has held back overall development, it affects natural gas resources in particular. This chapter contains interviews with Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources; and Tunde Afolabi, Chairman and CEO, Amni International Petroleum Development Company.

Long a critical sector for the Nigerian economy, agriculture recorded steady growth throughout the country’s recent recession and supported macroeconomic stability against a backdrop of volatility in the global oil market. Although the sector’s workforce, exports and GDP contribution have fallen in recent decades, as oil and gas production became Nigeria’s economic mainstay, the country is home to vast amounts of arable land and a large, diverse production base that includes many high-value cash crops, offering significant opportunity for development and investment. Recognising the sector’s high growth and export potential, the federal government of Nigeria has increasingly focused on agricultural development as a support mechanism for macroeconomic and non-oil growth. This chapter contains an interview with Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; and a roundtable with Chaim Zach, Managing Director and CEO, Agric International Technology and Trade; Kabiru Rabiu, Group Executive Director, BUA Group; and Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed, Managing Director, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending.

With a saturation rate of just 0.5% and a population of almost 200m, Nigeria’s insurance sector is attractive chiefly for its potential. The number of uninsured prospective customers is among the world’s largest within a single market. However, realising that potential has been difficult, with the sector fragmented and in need of consolidation. Although the industry regulator has been working to update and implement a new development plan, insurance companies are increasingly looking to non-traditional products to further boost exposure and overall access to policy coverage in Nigeria. These methods include micro-insurance for the retail market, index insurance for agriculture and new schemes for public health care. This chapter contains interviews with Alhaji Muhammadu Bagudu Hussaini, Managing Director and CEO, Nicon Insurance; and Nick Zaranyika, CEO, Total Health Trust.