The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has built a pound 162 million investment portfolio in Nigeria across six projects, with pound 65 million already disbursed or issued as guarantees, as the development finance institution accelerates its expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The figures, published in the EBRD’s current Nigeria country profile, show that the Bank has six active portfolio operations in the country, with the private sector accounting for 47 per cent of its portfolio. Nigeria joined the EBRD as a recipient country in 2025, and the Bank said it had invested pound 620 million across its five Sub-Saharan African countries of operation in less than a year.
The regional figure represents a substantial increase from the pound 350 million the EBRD reported earlier in the year, underscoring the rapid build-up of its African operations.
The Bank’s Strategy Implementation Plan 2026-28 had projected a gradual expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa, with the longer-term objective of investing more than pound 1 billion annually in the region from 2027.
One of the largest EBRD-backed projects in Nigeria is the Nigeria Sovereign Fibre Project, under which the Bank is providing a sovereign loan of up to $100 million to support Nigeria’s participation in a special-purpose vehicle for the nationwide rollout of approximately 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic broadband infrastructure.
The project is intended to expand affordable high-speed connectivity, particularly in underserved areas, while supporting digital public services, productivity and economic diversification. The EBRD says the loan is supported by up to pound 22 million in European Union grants for technical assistance, including detailed designs and capacity building.
A General Procurement Notice published by the EBRD on September 23 further confirmed that the $100 million loan to the special-purpose vehicle is being complemented by a pound 22 million EU grant and pound 500,000 from EBRD shareholder funds. The procurement notice relates to consultancy services for the project.
The Bank’s $100 million loan is one component of the financing structure and should not be presented as the total cost of the nationwide project.
Another major transaction with a Nigerian component is the proposed Mota-Engil Africa facility.
The EBRD approved a corporate loan of up to pound 162 million to Mota-Engil Africa, but the financing covers activities in several African countries. Of the facility, pound 63 million is allocated to railway construction equipment in Nigeria, while pound 99 million is linked to mining-services activities in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
The EBRD’s project documents identify the Nigerian component specifically as pound 63 million. The financing will support construction works associated with the Kano-Maradi railway and related railway infrastructure in Nigeria.
The Bank is also expanding its technology-financing activities through Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II.
In May, the EBRD approved an equity investment of up to $8 million in the fund, which invests in early-stage technology companies in Nigeria and other African markets. The investment forms part of the EBRD’s pound 200 million Early-Stage Innovation Facility II.
However, the Ventures Platform investment is classified by the EBRD as a regional investment rather than a direct addition to its pound 162 million Nigeria country portfolio. The fund is designed to invest across Africa, with a focus that includes Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco and Senegal.
Portfolio data as of August 31 showed pound 256 million in telecommunications, media and technology; pound 148 million in food and agribusiness; and pound 96 million in financial institutions. Together, the three sectors accounted for pound 500 million of the pound 615 million sector portfolio, or about 81 per cent.
Energy and municipal infrastructure each accounted for pound 36 million, while natural resources accounted for pound 26 million and equity funds pound 17 million.
The sector figures sum to pound 615 million and provide a snapshot of the EBRD’s regional portfolio at August 31 rather than its cumulative investment since entering Sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria’s growing importance to the Bank’s African strategy comes against an economy that the EBRD expects to expand by 4.1 per cent in 2026, following 4.1 per cent growth in 2024 and 4.0 per cent in 2025. Growth is forecast to moderate slightly to 3.9 per cent in 2027.
The EBRD said services, industry and agriculture would continue to support growth, while identifying inflation, higher energy prices, possible investment delays ahead of the 2027 elections and adverse weather conditions affecting agricultural output among the downside risks.
The EBRD’s country profile showed that Nigeria’s membership became effective in February 2025, when the country formally joined the Bank.
Since then, the institution has established a six-project portfolio, with pound 65 million classified as operating assets through disbursements and issued guarantees.
The expansion forms part of the EBRD’s broader strategy to establish a significant investment presence in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its 2026-28 implementation plan said the Bank intends to scale up its activities in the region and aims to reach more than pound 1 billion in annual investment by 2027.