Nigeria Needs Private Capital To Help Close Infrastructure Gap

Nigeria cannot fund its infrastructure needs through public budgets alone, The Alternative Bank has said, urging stronger private-sector participation in power, transport, digital connectivity, and subnational development projects.

The bank said government resources already face heavy demands across security, health, education, debt service, and social spending. It argued that infrastructure funding must now draw more long-term capital from investors, financial institutions, and development partners.

Branch manager, Dei-Dei Branch, Jacob Achem, represented The Alternative Bank’s divisional head at a session on “Financing Infrastructure — Unlocking Private Capital” during the Nigeria Infrastructure Conference, INFRACON 2026, in Abuja.

“The infrastructure gap is too large to be addressed by public funding alone,” Achem said. “We need to unlock private capital and create financing structures that allow more investors to participate in Nigeria’s development.”

The session brought together policymakers, business leaders, development finance institutions, and infrastructure experts to examine how Nigeria can move more projects from planning to delivery.

Regional director, Anglophone West Africa, African Export-Import Bank, Afreximbank, Kudakwashe Matereke, led the discussion on private capital and infrastructure financing.

The conference was organised by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA. It took place from July 14 to 15 at the Afreximbank African Trade Centre, AATC Towers, Abuja.

The theme was “Mobilising Private Capital for Sustainable Infrastructure Development in Nigeria.”

Discussions covered key sectors including maritime and blue economy, power and renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and subnational development.

Achem said Nigeria’s infrastructure challenge now requires bankable projects, stronger partnerships, and financing models that can attract long-term investors.

“Non-interest finance gives us another way to think about capital deployment,” he said. “It connects financing with productive assets, sustainable projects, and real economic value.”

He added that the priority should shift from simply identifying infrastructure needs to building structures that can bring capital into viable projects.

“The question is no longer whether Nigeria needs infrastructure,” Achem said. “The question is how quickly we can bring the right capital, structures, and partnerships together to deliver it.”

The Alternative Bank said non-interest finance could support infrastructure funding by tying investment to real assets and measurable project outcomes.