Senior leaders from some of the world’s most significant financial institutions gathered at The Peninsula London on Tuesday for The Africa Capital Forum, a high-level institutional convening bringing together central bank leadership, development finance institutions, global investors, and leaders of Nigeria’s financial sector to examine the conditions for long-term capital mobilisation into Africa’s largest economy.
The Forum was held in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria and key institutional partners, alongside the United Kingdom State Visit of His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Convened under the theme From Stabilisation to Capital Mobilisation, the programme spanned four substantive sessions moderated by senior executives from Standard Chartered and J.P. Morgan, and concluded with a fireside conversation between CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso and Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The centrepiece of the Forum was an unambiguous statement of institutional transformation from the CBN Governor himself Addressing the Forum in his fireside conversation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President, Governor Cardoso placed today’s convening in the context of the most severe economic stress Nigeria’s financial system had faced in a generation.
“Nigeria arguably has gone through one of its worst financial crises in the history of the country,” the Governor acknowledged. “Inflation at 37%, excessive money supply, investors going through the window. A lot of that has been managed downwards. We have had 11 consistent months of disinflation and we are positive about the future.”
On the structural transformation of Nigeria’s financial system, his assessment was unequivocal:
“The financial system we had is dead and buried. What we have now is a new system that has brought liquidity and transparency.”
The Governor also turned to Nigeria’s banking sector as a signal of the country’s international reach: “We are very proud of what the Nigerian banks have been able to accomplish. They play a dominant role in Africa and beyond. They are our ambassadors.”
The international validation that anchors the Forum’s narrative was reinforced in the opening remarks of Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, who framed the UK-Nigeria economic relationship in concrete terms.
The United Kingdom accounts for close to half of capital inflows into Nigeria, he noted, making London the right venue for this conversation.
“The UK is proud to remain one of Nigeria’s partners with links in banking and capital markets,” he said, adding that the next phase of the reform agenda should focus on converting renewed investor interest into long-term, sustainable investments.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Odile Renaud-Basso, speaking in her fireside conversation with Governor Cardoso, offered endorsement of Nigeria’s reform direction from one of the world’s leading multilateral development institutions.
“This open, transparent, predictable system is extremely important,” she said, adding that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development sees significant potential in Nigeria’s economic stabilisation, its demographic growth, and the appetite of its people to embrace new technologies.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Managing Director for Policy Strategy and Delivery, Melis Ekmen Tabojer, confirmed institutional commitment directly:
“Our investments come with institutional governance support. We consider ourselves long-term investors and are glad to welcome Nigeria as our 77th shareholder.”
CBN Deputy Governor for Economic Policy Muhammad Sani Abdullahi provided the macroeconomic account of where the system stands.
“Today we have achieved stability,” he said. “Net and gross reserves are high, foreign reserves are over $50bn, the foreign exchange market has stabilised, and inflation is falling. But we are cautious.”
He added that the corrections seen through 2024 had begun to restore confidence, with a measurable increase in foreign exchange flows following the reforms.
That assessment was independently confirmed by Ravi Bhatia, Director and Lead Analyst for Africa at S&P Global Ratings: “We put Nigeria on positive and we are positive.”
Steve Gray OBE, Head of West and Central Africa at UK Export Finance, situated the confidence question in the context of structural change:
“Confidence is built through full fiscal transparency. The opacity is responsible for the so-called African premium. But the reforms in Nigeria are providing transparency and building confidence.” He also called for greater external recognition of Nigeria’s existing strengths: “I want to see more reflection of the reality of Nigeria’s strengths so that more can be done to support Nigeria’s priorities.”
The Forum’s first panel, examining the repricing of risk and the reopening of capital markets, produced one of the day’s sharpest analytical distinctions.
Chris Chijiutomi, Head of Africa at British International Investment, drew a line between short-term portfolio flows and the capital that actually builds economies.
“Portfolio capital investors are good but in emerging markets, long-term patient capital is more important. That is what gives you long-term growth. When you think about sustainable economic development and job creation, it is this long-term capital that can give you that.” He added a direct call on domestic capital formation: “We need more pension funds, more Nigerian capital, because that will sustain long-term development in Nigeria.”
Olimpia Gjino, Regional Head of Syndications for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the International Finance Corporation, positioned Nigeria clearly within the institution’s investment universe:
“Nigeria is a very investable country. You need to deal with the issues, the price of the risk, and structure around it.”
Deputy Governor for Financial System Stability Phillip Ikeazor addressed the durability question directly, offering an assurance that the reform architecture has been designed to outlast any single administration: “All the reforms that we have put in place are such that they cut across stakeholders. It ensures that even at the end of this particular administration, people will see the need not to reverse these reforms.”
The second session surfaced the commercial reality of a banking sector in the midst of structural recapitalisation.
Yemisi Edun, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of First City Monument Bank, connected the capital-raising programme directly to market capacity: “The raised capital has created expansion of credits. The new recapitalisation has given more credibility towards what we can do as industries.”
Segun Alebiosu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria, placed the foreign exchange reforms at the centre of the banks’ international ambitions: “With currency reforms, Nigerian banks will be able to take home bigger transactions. We can do more and crowd in new investments.”
Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa, reflected the pan-African dimension of the banking sector’s growth: “The business that we have has over 65% of the revenue coming from outside of Nigeria. That means that we can do more in Africa.” He also anchored the enabling conditions argument in a concrete domestic priority: “Once power issues are sorted out, more employment will be generated, more businesses will come out.”
The third session examined the role of digital infrastructure and fintech innovation in mobilising diaspora capital at scale. Luis Oganes, Head of Global Markets Research at J.P. Morgan, offered a market perspective on Nigeria’s positioning: “Nigeria is emerging as a fintech ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Temi Popoola, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Group, framed the moment as structurally significant for the capital markets: “Technology has changed the face of our market. We are at a massive inflection point where the tremendous flows we are seeing in the market today are thanks to the banks.”
Neeraj Kapur, Group Chief Executive Officer of Crown Agents, offered an insight on the relationship between innovation and regulation: “Fintech drives regulation more than regulation drives fintech.”
Odunayo Eweniyi, Chief Operating Officer of PiggyVest, placed the inclusion dimension at the centre of the fintech proposition: “We make investment feel much more accessible.”
The Forum’s final session produced what may prove to be the most widely cited analysis of the day.
Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, addressed directly the question of whether reform fatigue could undermine the gains already achieved:
“There is some form of reform fatigue. But the difference is that this time there is reform credibility. For the first time, there is a congruence of the fiscal and monetary sides.”
Sanyade Okoli, Special Adviser to the President on Finance and Economy, reinforced Nigeria’s positioning in the context of global capital dynamics: “We want to drive the right quality of growth but the government alone cannot fund this growth. We need to work with partners who will bring the sticky, equity capital.” She added: “In the face of global tensions, investors are sticking with us even as the world talks about fleeing to safety.”
Usman Okpanachi, Director of the Statistics Department at the Central Bank of Nigeria, distilled the message to a single instruction for the international investment community: “The provision of credible data is important in building trust and transparency. The message from the CBN is: follow the data.”
