In a significant step towards boosting Nigeria’s agricultural sector and driving economic growth, the Federal Government has expressed its commitment to partnering with Propcom+, a UK Aid-funded programme, to enhance agricultural productivity and improve livelihoods. 

This initiative was underscored when the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, received in his office in Abuja today a delegation from Propcom+, the UK Aid-funded programme focused on climate-resilient and market-led agricultural development.

HM Edun highlighted the government’s commitment to driving inclusive economic growth through strategic investments in agriculture. 

He noted that efforts are being coordinated in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the African Development Bank, and other stakeholders to expand access to subsidised inputs and finance for smallholder farmers across both wet and dry seasons. 

The Minister also underscored the importance of efficiency and transparency, citing the use of biometric systems for direct benefit transfers to vulnerable populations, and ongoing initiatives to connect farmers with viable markets—ensuring that interventions deliver measurable value to communities across the country. 

Led by Dr Adiya Ode, the Political Director and Team Leader, the Propcom+ team expressed interest in supporting Nigeria’s ongoing reform efforts, with a particular emphasis on enhancing agricultural productivity and improving livelihoods in conflict- and climate-affected regions.

This partnership marks a crucial milestone in Nigeria’s quest for sustainable agricultural development and economic growth and is expected to have a lasting impact on the lives of millions of Nigerians.

The world’s next billion-dollar enterprises are already taking root on African soil. Come. See. Build with us.”

Across boardrooms, innovation hubs, and policy circles, one truth has become increasingly undeniable: entrepreneurship is the engine of modern prosperity. From Silicon Valley to Shenzhen, Bangalore to Lagos, it is entrepreneurial ingenuity that drives economic transformation, unlocks human potential, and redefines nations’ futures.

Yet while the global innovation map is familiar, a new frontier is rapidly emerging — Africa. And at its heart, Nigeria is leading the charge.

At the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT, I recently had the privilege of addressing global investors, policymakers, and innovators on this very topic: Innovation in Global Markets – Prosperity Through Entrepreneurship. I left more convinced than ever that Africa’s moment is not a distant aspiration; it is here, it is now, and it is powered by an entrepreneurial spirit as vast as our potential.

Our demographic advantage — over 220 million Nigerians, with 60% under the age of 25 — represents not just a number, but a seismic opportunity. Young, dynamic, digitally fluent Nigerians are already reshaping sectors from fintech to agritech. Success stories such as Flutterwave, now valued at over $3 billion, and Paystack, acquired by Stripe for $200 million, are proof that African innovation is globally viable, scalable, and investable.

In 2022 alone, Nigerian startups raised more venture capital than the rest of West Africa combined. These are not isolated triumphs; they are signals. Signals that Nigeria is open for business. Signals that African entrepreneurs are not waiting for handouts — they are building, scaling, and thriving.

But entrepreneurship does not happen in a vacuum. Innovation requires ecosystems — supportive environments where policy, regulation, capital, education, and infrastructure converge to enable ideas to flourish. As Mariana Mazzucato reminds us, innovation is not just about ideas; it is about ecosystems.

Yet as we build these ecosystems, we must confront hard truths. Despite the excitement around African entrepreneurship, there remains a significant misfit between available capital and the sectors that truly reflect our real economy. Too much of the funding today flows narrowly into high-growth tech ventures aimed at unicorn valuations. Too little reaches agriculture, processing, fashion, trade — the industries where the majority of Africans live, work, and create.

This misallocation is not just an economic oversight — it is a structural risk. As I noted at the Legatum Centre, we cannot eat artificial intelligence. Even the architects of AI must eat. If our investment models continue to overlook the foundational sectors that sustain life — food systems, manufacturing, community-based enterprises — we will build economies detached from the needs of real people.

We must also rethink how we judge entrepreneurial potential. Too often, the current models favour those who fit narrow expectations — those who pitch with flashy energy, polished accents, or perfect certainty. But real entrepreneurship, especially in emerging markets, is messy. It is probabilistic, not deterministic. Some of the best entrepreneurs are soft-spoken, operate in local languages, and are solving deeply local problems.

If we restrict opportunity to only those who conform to imported templates, we will miss out on the vast ingenuity present across Africa — in our markets, our farms, our informal sectors. We must deliberately develop new pipelines of entrepreneurs, expand how we recognise potential, and create funding models that are as diverse as the markets we seek to serve.

Celebrating success is important — but so too is normalising failure. In mature ecosystems, entrepreneurs who fail are not banished; they are funded again, having learned valuable lessons. In our societies, we must build a culture that embraces iteration, resilience, and second chances.

Nigeria is acting. Through initiatives like the Nigeria Startup Act, our Digital Economy Policy (2020–2030), strategic funding instruments such as the Bank of Industry and Development Bank of Nigeria, and our leadership within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), we are creating an environment where broader types of entrepreneurship can thrive.

But we cannot do it alone. We need global capital that is patient, intentional, and impact-driven. We need investors who understand that true inclusive prosperity comes not only from scaling a handful of tech giants, but from empowering millions of SMEs across diverse sectors.

This demands alternative financing mechanisms — ones that prioritise stability, resilience, and widespread job creation over short-term returns. It requires fund managers willing to invest in food systems, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, education — the lifeblood sectors of society. It calls for a new generation of investors who are as committed to building as they are to profiting.

Africa’s entrepreneurial journey will not be without challenges. But it is challenges that have historically given rise to the greatest innovations. If we create the right ecosystems — and recalibrate our investment priorities — African entrepreneurs will respond, not just with local solutions, but with global leadership.

To the global investor community, my invitation remains simple: Come. See. Build with us.

The world’s next billion-dollar enterprises, groundbreaking technologies, and prosperity-driving ecosystems are already taking root on African soil. Together, we can shape a future defined not by exclusion, but by inclusion; not by extraction, but by empowerment.

Africa’s time is now. Let us build it — together.

Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite is Nigeria’s Minister of State for Finance.

In a strategic move to propel Nigeria’s economic resurgence, the Economic Management Team (EMT) has set its sights on achieving rapid and sustained growth, building on recent stabilization successes, while also focusing on the country’s path towards accelerated and inclusive economic development for the benefit of the citizenry. 

Chairing a strategic session of the EMT in his office in Abuja today, the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Mr Wale Edun  highlighted emerging signs of macroeconomic stabilisation — including a narrowing budget deficit, and improved fiscal revenues.

 He also noted Nigeria’s recent credit rating upgrade as a clear sign of international confidence in the reform agenda.

*That is a clear, objective indication that things are moving in the right direction,* he affirmed 

The Minister praised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its pivotal role in restoring confidence in the external sector, noting further, the positive impact of a more transparent exchange rate regime and rising foreign reserves, recording a net foreign exchange reserve of US $23 billion in 2024, and closing the exchange premium from 65% in 2023 to 1% in 2024.

*High commendation goes to the Central Bank — not just for results, but for the clarity and transparency of their actions,* he said. 

Referencing discussions at the recent IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, the Minister acknowledged ongoing global uncertainty and domestic fiscal constraints, including a recent drop in oil prices. He, however, stressed that these challenges underscore the need to accelerate private sector investment and job creation.

The Minister urged all public agencies to embrace data-driven, evidence-based policymaking, commending the Central Bank’s approach as a model of transparency. EMT subcommittees were tasked with continuing their work to shape the next phase of Nigeria’s economic roadmap, to be presented to the President, focusing on unlocking rapid and sustained inclusive growth, with the government targeting 7 percent in the medium term.

 The EMT also seeks to further improve the country’s sovereign ratings to bring down the costs of debt while building stronger GDP growth through sector and specific growth policies.

This includes seeking to unlock pension funds for infrastructure, increases in oil production, and reduction in the cost of crude oil production, while strengthening existing and new domestic and foreign investments through effective communication of the government’s economic agenda. The EMT recognizes the progress and acceleration of investments in telecoms infrastructure that will serve as the basis of strong contributions from the sector in the coming quarters and recognized that technology has a big role to play in driving growth in other sectors such as agriculture. 

The meeting also provided an opportunity for the EMT to discuss how the data on poverty can be disaggregated so the government is able to provide targeted economic opportunities and improve the effectiveness of current government expenditure levels.

With these strategic initiatives, Nigeria is poised to achieve rapid and sustained inclusive growth, transforming the lives of millions of Nigerians and cementing its position as a major player in the global economy.