- APM Terminals Pledges Fresh $600m Investment In Nigeria’s Maritime Industry
The International Finance Corporation has announced plans to dispatch a high-powered investment mission to Nigeria to unlock large-scale private sector financing in critical sectors including livestock, energy and housing, in a major boost for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reform agenda.
The breakthrough was unveiled on Thursday in Kigali, Rwanda, during a strategic meeting between Tinubu and IFC Managing Director, Makhtar Diop, on the sidelines of the 13th Africa CEO Summit.
Diop, who led a top IFC delegation that included Regional Vice President for Africa, Ethiopis Tafara, and IFC Director for Central Africa and Nigeria, Dahlia Khalifa, said the corporation was eager to deepen collaboration with Nigeria in sectors considered critical to economic transformation.
“The IFC would immediately send a mission to Nigeria to explore scalable investment structures that could unlock private capital into the sector,” Diop declared.
The IFC boss showered praises on Tinubu over the administration’s controversial but sweeping economic reforms, especially the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of Nigeria’s exchange rate system.
“President Tinubu, you have been so courageous in removing the subsidy. When you did it, I said to myself, President Tinubu took the bull by the horns,” Diop said.
He described the reforms as “courageous and transformative,” insisting they had sent a strong message to global investors that Nigeria was serious about difficult but necessary economic restructuring.
At the meeting, Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to mobilising private capital to drive institutional and infrastructure development across Nigeria and Africa.
The President stressed that African nations could no longer depend solely on foreign financing, urging pension funds and institutional investors across the continent to evolve into strategic engines for development financing.
“It has become imperative for African pension funds to evolve into strategic development finance instruments capable of supporting major infrastructure and productive-sector investments,” Tinubu said.
He also called for aggressive investment in decentralised energy systems and transmission infrastructure, warning that Africa could not achieve rapid industrialisation without fixing its chronic power deficit.
“If you want Africa to leapfrog, then energy transmission and decentralisation are important. The funding gap is there, and we must work together,” the President stated.
Discussions at the meeting also focused on local currency financing structures, regional banking partnerships and swap arrangements aimed at strengthening infrastructure funding and boosting trade integration across Africa.
Diop noted that stronger collaboration with Nigerian financial institutions, including Access Bank Plc, could accelerate interstate financial integration and ease business transactions across the continent.
He urged African leaders to jointly pursue what he described as an “African Renaissance,” driven by strong institutions, regional economic champions and bold economic cooperation.
The latest IFC move is expected to further strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria as the Tinubu administration intensifies efforts to reposition Africa’s largest economy for long-term growth and industrial expansion.
In a related development, President Tinubu has secured another major foreign investment commitment for Nigeria, as global port giant APM Terminals announced plans to inject a staggering $600 million into the country’s maritime and logistics sector.
The investment breakthrough was unveiled on Thursday during a high-level meeting between Tinubu and top executives of APM Terminals on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.
Leading the delegation was Regional President, Africa-Europe, Igor van den Essen, alongside Head of Investments, Martijn Van Dongen, and CEO of APM Terminals Nigeria, Frederik Klinke.
Van den Essen revealed that the fresh investment would focus heavily on the modernisation of Apapa Port, expansion of logistics infrastructure and long-term private sector participation in Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem.
“The proposed investments will be deployed in Apapa port modernisation, logistics infrastructure, and long-term private-sector investment in Nigeria’s maritime sector,” he said.
The APM executive praised Tinubu’s economic reforms, saying the administration’s policies had restored investor confidence and reignited global interest in Nigeria’s infrastructure sector.
He described Nigeria as a “strategic stronghold” for the company’s African operations, noting that APM Terminals had maintained more than two decades of business presence and investments in the country.
Van den Essen also applauded the establishment of the National Single Window initiative by the Tinubu administration, saying it had significantly improved customs coordination and eased cargo clearance bottlenecks.
“He commended President Tinubu for establishing the National Single Window, which has streamlined trade procedures, improved Customs coordination, and reduced delays in cargo clearance,” the statement said.
Responding, President Tinubu declared that Nigeria was aggressively repositioning itself as a globally competitive investment destination through sweeping reforms and infrastructure renewal.
The President stressed that his administration was determined to dismantle longstanding structural bottlenecks slowing down port operations and trade efficiency.
“Nigeria is determined to move beyond structural bottlenecks and outdated systems,” Tinubu stated, calling for advanced port technology, faster cargo processing systems and world-class operational standards across Nigerian ports.
He said Nigeria possesses the market size, human capital and economic potential needed to support globally competitive maritime infrastructure investments and urged more international investors to take advantage of the country’s reform-driven opportunities.
In a separate meeting with executives of Winme Group, Tinubu intensified calls for deeper strategic investments in logistics, mining, shipping and integrated infrastructure development.
The President emphasised the urgent need for coordinated investments connecting ports, transport corridors, processing hubs and export infrastructure to accelerate industrial growth and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness.
According to the State House, the Winme Group delegation expressed strong confidence in Nigeria’s long-term economic prospects, citing Tinubu’s reforms as a major driver of renewed investor optimism.
The latest $600 million commitment marks another significant endorsement of Tinubu’s economic agenda as the administration pushes to attract large-scale foreign investments into critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.
