BII reaffirms long-term commitment to Nigeria bets on infrastructure, energy

British International Investment (BII), the United Kingdom development finance institution and impact investor, has reaffirmed its continued relationship with Nigeria, managing a portfolio currently valued at $754 million.

As BII’s fourth-largest country portfolio globally, the firm’s activities in Nigeria now support over 116 businesses that directly provide jobs for over 54,000 people.

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In a recent conversation, Chris Chijiutomi, Managing Director and Head of Africa at BII, detailed how the firm is navigating Nigeria’s evolving economic reforms and why the country remains a strategic priority for long-term patient capital.

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A central pillar of BII’s strategy is addressing the energy deficit that hinders Nigerian productivity. With an estimated 600 million Africans lacking electricity, Chijiutomi said BII is focusing on infrastructure aligned with government priorities, specifically clean energy.

“ A lot of our investment and how we prioritise it, we make sure it aligns with the national development priorities of the country. So, for example, in Nigeria, sectors like energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and financial services are our priorities,” Chijiutomi said.

BII provided $15 million to Starsight Energy via debt funding to support clean energy solutions for commercial and industrial customers, including many of Nigeria’s leading banks.

It also provided InfraCredit with a $30 million blended facility designed to mobilise institutional investors, such as local pension funds, into the renewable energy space.

“Infrastructure is a core part of our investment thesis,” Chijiutomi explained. “We are looking at power generation, transmission, and distribution areas where we have a lot of expertise”.

Read also:Domestic capital replaces foreign inflows as manufacturing FDI drops to eight-year low

BII is also tackling the 40 percent post-harvest loss in Nigeria’s agricultural sector by investing heavily in the value chain. The firm’s largest single investment in the country is Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemical, which supplies 80 percent of Nigeria’s domestic fertiliser demand.

Over the last decade, BII has committed $140 million to Indorama, transforming Nigeria into a fertiliser exporter and bolstering global food security.

Other notable investments include Johnvents Group, which is scaling Nigeria’s cocoa export capacity, and Valency International, where a 2023 investment supported cashew processing facilities, benefiting 60,000 farmers.

He said BII uses intermediated structures that invest through local banks and funds to reach small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that a global DFI might struggle to service directly.

He mentioned that a $50 million facility with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is specifically targeted, with 70 percent of the funds dedicated to Northern Nigeria and 30 percent to women-owned or led businesses.

Chijiutomi said that the current administration’s tough decisions to remove fuel subsidies and liberalise the currency are yielding good results. While high inflation and currency instability previously deterred some, the move toward a market-driven exchange rate is creating the predictability that long-term investors crave.

“We are starting to see commercial investors engage in looking to invest in Nigeria,” Chijiutomi said. “I’m talking about people coming in to invest in real businesses, long-term capital.”

BII’s commitment is also reflected in its physical presence. Over the last three years, the firm has doubled its in-country team in Nigeria.

“ As a firm owned by the UK government, BII remains a primary vehicle for the UK-Nigeria economic relationship. We are long-term investors. We look to invest when economic cycles are down because capital is needed across all periods, good and bad,” Chijiutomi said.