It is encouraging to hear that Nigeria has recorded its highest level of investor confidence in five years. After a long stretch of inflation, high prices, currency anxiety and general economic fatigue, this is welcome news.
According to official data, capital importation surged by 132 percent, rising to 16.77 billion dollars in the first nine months of 2025, compared with 7.22 billion dollars during the same period two years earlier. Currency reform and improved dollar liquidity are clearly beginning to restore confidence. For a country that has taken a lot of economic punches, this is no small achievement.
But while the numbers are moving in the right direction, investor confidence does not live by statistics alone. Capital is cautious. Money is emotional. And investors are often influenced by factors that do not show up neatly in quarterly reports.
I say this from experience. I serve as a city councillor in Kitchener, where I was the first Black person elected to that role. I also sit on the city’s economic development committee, which works closely with our economic development department to attract and retain investment.
One lesson becomes clearer every year. Investor confidence is rarely accidental, and it goes beyond just the numbers. It goes into what I like to label the soft side of investor attraction. These are the signals investors pick up even when nobody is presenting slides.
Stability comes first. A study on foreign direct investment (FDI) by Dr Basavarajappa, P.T., Assistant Professor of Economics, found that political stability and predictable governance reduce perceived risk, encouraging long-term commitments. Countries with consistent policies attract more capital inflows because investors trust that tomorrow will look like today. In fact, investors are more likely to make long-term commitments in politically stable countries, promoting sustainable economic growth.
Investors want to know that tomorrow will look reasonably like today. This goes beyond currency movements or interest rates. Political stability matters. Institutional predictability matters. In our training as public officials, we were told to be boring. That advice stuck. Leaders who excite crowds with drama may win applause, but they often unsettle capital. Stability is not glamorous, but it is essential. Reliable electricity, passable roads, and functional public systems are not luxuries. They are the foundation on which confidence is built.
Protection follows closely behind. Investors pay attention to safety in ways that might surprise you. It is not only about major security threats.
It is also about whether people feel comfortable walking home in the evening. In meetings with investors, concerns sometimes begin with something as simple as poor lighting on commercial streets. If people cannot walk freely, businesses hesitate to invest confidently. A society where jogging requires two escort vehicles, as sometimes seen in Lekki, may impress on social media, but it quietly erodes confidence. Capital prefers calm over convoys.
Then there is perception and public relations.
Reputation travels faster than facts. I once listened to a sports report about a football match involving Canada. The team lost badly. But if you listened casually, you would think they won. The story focused on resilience, teamwork and long-term development. The actual loss was mentioned almost as an afterthought. That is the power of good storytelling. When people hear Nigeria, too often the first associations are fraud stereotypes and online scams. Many times, these stories are not told by those on the outside but by those that are within. Visibility shapes investment. Countries that invest in telling their story clearly (not just from their PR department but also from their citizens) and consistently across global markets attract better quality attention.
National mood also matters more than we like to admit. Investors observe whether citizens believe in their own country. Canada offers an interesting example. The phrase ‘elbows up’ comes from hockey culture and was popularised by Gordie Howe. It symbolised resilience and readiness. Years later, Mark Carney used it as a rallying call during periods of economic and political pressure. It became shorthand for national resolve. When people show pride and optimism, it signals that talent will stay, productivity will grow, and consumers will keep spending. Investors notice that energy.
Finally, there is economic tourism. Tourism is often underestimated as a serious economic tool.
It does more than fill hotels. It builds infrastructure, creates visibility and introduces investors to markets they might otherwise ignore. In many regions, tourism has served as a gateway into broader investment across real estate, logistics, manufacturing and services.
Visitors visiting today often become investors tomorrow.
So, where does this leave Nigeria? The current rise in investor confidence is real and deserved.
But sustaining it requires attention to these softer signals. Stability, protection, perception, national confidence and tourism work together to shape how a capital feels about a country.
The opportunity before us is clear. If Nigeria strengthens these other ‘soft’ areas alongside ongoing economic reforms, the recent surge in confidence will not be a random spike. It will become a trend. Investors are already watching.
The question is whether we give them enough reasons to come and stay.
Ayo Owodunni. ayo@ayoowo.com
