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Experts have called on the federal government to create a deliberate strategy to de-risk Nigeria’s business environment and create incentives for long-term investments to sustain the country’s GDP growth momentum.
The experts made this known at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) 2025 mid-year economic review.
Gabriel Idahosa, president, LCCI recognised sectors that have shown resilience and innovation in the first half of the year, noting that the technology ecosystem has continued to evolve, with fintechs, e-commerce, and digital platforms providing new models for job creation and service delivery, and also the creative industries and segments of the agricultural value chain that have demonstrated strong adaptability and export potential.
Idahosa noted that for this resilience to translate into sustained growth, there must be deliberate investment incentives.
He noted that there is a need to strengthen investor confidence through predictable policy environments, legal clarity, and responsive governance, adding that regulatory agencies must avoid abrupt decisions that increase the cost and complexity of doing business.
“The government must also prioritise infrastructure financing, ease of tax compliance, digitisation of public services, and institutional reforms that enhance transparency and reduce the cost of governance,” the LCCI president said.
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He also stated that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents opportunities for regional trade expansion, value chain integration, and industrialisation, and similarly, climate-smart investments and green financing present emerging avenues for sustainable economic growth.
Idahosa, however, noted that unlocking these potentials requires deliberate and coordinated efforts.
“We must improve broadband infrastructure, invest in vocational training, promote domestic manufacturing, and support innovation hubs nationwide. Local content development, diaspora engagement, and targeted investment promotion strategies are also critical. In all this, the government must act not as a competitor but as a facilitator and enabler of business success,” he said.
Idahosa highlighted that the private sector, particularly small and medium-scale enterprises, have continued to navigate a challenging operating environment marked by high energy costs, regulatory uncertainty, limited credit access, and infrastructure deficiencies, noting that these macroeconomic imbalances must be addressed with greater urgency and coordination across fiscal and monetary institutions.
“Although the Central Bank of Nigeria has responded with tighter monetary policy and interest rate hikes, inflation remains stubborn and poses a significant challenge to private investment and household consumption,” he said.
The LCCI president also noted that despite reforms aimed at unification and increased transparency, the foreign exchange market still suffers from illiquidity, speculative tendencies, and a lack of investor confidence.
“While the economy recorded modest growth in the first half of the year, inflationary pressures remain elevated, eroding purchasing power and increasing business costs,” he said.
Biodun Adedipe, chief consultant, B. Adedipe and Associates Limited (BAA Consult), offered what he described as ‘a proven case of resilience’ in Nigeria’s macroeconomy, while pointing to major policy shifts, including fuel subsidy removal, bank recapitalisation, and fiscal consolidation, as steps that can create an environment for competition and strengthen the foundations for growth.
Speaking on business opportunities, Adedipe added that the country’s non‑oil export outlook for 2025 and beyond is optimistic, driven by deepening macroeconomic stability, ongoing reforms and strengthening of institutions, and capacity building by some financial institutions, relevant government agencies, and other entities in the non-oil export ecosystem.
He said the ongoing tax reforms, which he referred to as ‘the real game changer’, are capable of igniting regional competition (the secret behind the Chinese economic renaissance).
The federal government, through the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, recently enacted into law four landmark tax reform bills: which are the Nigeria Tax Bill (Ease of Doing Business), the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (establishment) Bill.
Taiwo Oyedele, chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, acknowledged that reforms are still a work in progress, also noting that exchange rate recovery and stability among the key issues his committee is addressing, alongside sticky inflation and the high cost of doing business.
Oyedele, in his presentation at the mid-year review, outlined tax reform changes like harmonisation, competitiveness, globalisation, digitisation, transparency measures, and structural changes that he said will level the playing field, tax expenditure, eliminate tax on capital, and fight corruption, among others.
