Niger Delta Blue Economy Summit Targets $600m Investment In 2027

The second edition of the Niger Delta Blue Economy Investment Summit is expected to attract more than $600 million in investment capital into Nigeria’s blue economy sector.

The three-day summit, scheduled for March 18 to 20, 2027, will hold at Movela Hotels, Warri, Delta State.

Co-convener of the summit, Dr Uche Igwe, disclosed this during an interaction with selected journalists, saying the annual event would bring together key decision-makers and operators to transform the Niger Delta’s blue economy potential into viable investment opportunities.

He said participants would be drawn from government, the organised private sector, academia, civil society, traditional institutions and community groups across the Niger Delta and beyond.

Igwe said the maiden edition, held in February 2026, had recorded progress through partnerships and the identification of feasible projects requiring funding and further development.

“Since our maiden edition last February, a lot has been achieved. We now have partners who understand our region and who have identified several feasible projects.

“It is now time to go to the next level of ensuring that such projects are made bankable and the necessary funds required are mobilised to ensure that projects leave the drawing board and hit the ground running,” he said.

He commended the Delta State Government under Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for providing what he described as an enabling environment for investment in the sector.

According to him, the second summit will focus on developing investment pipelines and exploring innovative financing mechanisms, including blue bonds, to attract capital into the sector.

“With the feedback we have got so far, more than $600 million of investment capital will enter the blue economy sector through our modest efforts,” Igwe added.

Also speaking, Senior Consultant at Gadfly Consulting Limited, Mr Philemon Oghenedoro Adjekuko, called for stronger collaboration among relevant government agencies and private sector operators to support Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

He said the blue economy could contribute significantly to the country’s economic expansion if stakeholders moved beyond discussions to coordinated action and investment.

Adjekuko, who said he had spent the past three months engaging stakeholders as part of a study on blue finance, expressed optimism about the sector’s capacity to drive economic diversification and strengthen the non-oil economy.

“As someone who has been speaking to stakeholders in the last three months conducting a study on blue finance, our country is ready to witness steady economic transformation of the non-oil sector through blue economy,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the Warri summit would accelerate discussions around viable projects and translate them into investment agreements capable of delivering tangible economic benefits to the Niger Delta and the country.

The blue economy broadly covers economic activities linked to oceans, seas, rivers and other water resources, including fisheries, aquaculture, maritime transportation, shipbuilding, tourism and marine renewable energy.