Nigeria’s FDI hunt clashes with N70bn capital flight to Grenada

…Investment and donation was made to Grenada’s real estate or its National Transformation Fund

…Each investment is between $235,000 to $270,000

While the Nigerian government is aggressively courting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to stabilise the economy, a contradictory trend is emerging.

High-net-worth individuals in Nigeria are moving massive amounts of capital in the opposite direction.

New data reveals a startling paradox: as the presidency travels the globe seeking dollar inflows, 150 Nigerians have spent N70 billion in just two years to acquire citizenship-by-investment (CBI) in the Caribbean nation of Grenada.

The contrast between the government’s FDI goals and this domestic capital flight creates a complex economic narrative.

For example, between 2023 and 2026, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu secured over $50.8 billion in investment commitments in foreign countries through a series of high-level diplomatic missions aimed at economic stabilisation.

He secured $14 billion in India at a G20 summit for petrochemicals, steel, and defence sectors, $500 million was secured from Germany for renewable energy and gas exports, and a strategic partnership was made with China for critical infrastructure like railways. €330 million for urban mobility and food security in France in November 2024.

In January 2026, a landmark agreement was earmarked to mobilize $30 billion annually for green finance and logistics.

Overall, the president secured over $50.8 billion in investment commitments through more than 30 global missions.

On the other end, findings from the Investment Migration Agency (IMA) Grenada highlight that Nigeria became the leading source market for Grenada’s CBI applications as Nigerians accounted for 16 percent of all global applications to Grenada in the final quarter of 2025.

Each investment is between $235,000 to $270,000 for a donation to Grenada’s National Transformation Fund or real estate investment.

This means the total spend over a two-year period (2024 to 2025) is N70 billion broken down to include 2024 outflow of N53 billion (EC$106.78 million) from 80 applications, and a 2025 outflow of N17 billion (EC$33.79 million) from 75 applications.

Carolina Tenzer, consultant at Henley & Partners noted this interest among the firm’s Nigerian clientete in acquiring CBI, “In 2025, overall applications from our Nigerian clients increased by 48 percent compared to 2024, making Nigeria our seventh-largest source market globally and our fifth-largest market by enquiries.”

“Historically, between 2018 and 2024, Antigua & Barbuda was the most popular Caribbean programme among our Nigerian clients. However, in 2025 we observed a shift: St. Kitts & Nevis became the top programme applied for by Nigerians, followed closely by Grenada.”

“In 2025, Grenada was our second most popular programme globally, after Portugal, and Nigerian nationals were among the leading applicant groups”, she said.

Jennifer Harding Marlin, citizenship & residency attorney, Jarland Law speaks on the uniqueness of Grenada’s CBI program globally.

“What makes Grenada really unique is that Grenada is the only Caribbean country whose CBI program includes an E-2 investor visa to the US, asides visa free access to China”.

The economic paradox: Seeking inflow, ignoring outflow

Tajudeen Ibrahim, the director of Research and Strategy, Chapel Hill Denham sends a warning on this trend noting, “The downside of this type of investment is capital flight in the form of investment outflows…the number is substantial and it can even get bigger over time if we don’t fix our problems.”

However, he posits that at every opportunity, an average Nigerian will be willing to take a second citizenship.

“I see it as a positive development for families who just around the middle of the income pyramid in the country”, he says.

In a similar vein, Muda Yusuf, economist and former director-general of the LCCI notes, ‘Whatever opportunities Nigerian have to invest abroad is not a bad idea…we crave for foreign direct investment and invariably those who invest there repatriate their profits or dividends abroad.”

“If you have Nigerians who feel comfortable enough to invest abroad, I’m sure they will repatriate whatever profits or dividends from there. We also have the likes of Dangote who has cement factories in close to 10 countries on the continent. We have seen the dividend in terms of diaspora remittances”.

“It is also important for us to create the right environment for Nigerians to invest in Nigeria…”, he said.

Yusuf, however, notes, “From a policy standpoint, this should be sending a message to the authorities… No one should be willing to spend heavily outside of his or her country if the country he lives in or originates from is flourishing.”