•FG, Japan launch strategic venture capital initiative for youth

•Nigeria, UNIDO sign $175m pact for industrial growth, jobs, economic transformation

•Senate: New Investment & Security Act to propel Tinubu’s $1trn economy

•Says legislation will end ponzi scheme

Ndubuisi Francis, James Emejo, Sunday Aborisade in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos

The World Bank has approved three operations in Nigeria, totaling $1.08 billion in concessional financing, to enhance education quality, build household and community resilience, as well as improve nutrition for underserved groups.

This comes as Nigeria and Japan launched a strategic venture capital initiative that would channel naira-denominated investments into high-growth startups, shielding them from currency risks while unlocking access to long-term concessional financing.

Also, the federal government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), yesterday signed a $175 million Programme for Country Partnership (PCP) agreement to aid industrial development, create jobs and drive economic transformation.

The Senate yesterday said the Repeal and Reenactment of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 has set the stage for the $1 trillion economy proposed by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Osita Izunaso, who also sponsored the bill for the enactment of the ISA, said this in an interview with journalists in Abuja.

For the ISA, Tinubu had said during his 2023 presidential campaign that he was aiming at a $1 trillion GDP for the country by 2030.

The World Bank said the approved facility included $500 million in additional financing for the NIGERIA: Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Program; $80 million for Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRIN 2.0), and $500 million for Hope for Quality Basic Education for All (HOPE-EDU).

It noted that the NG-CARES Program will support the Nigerian government in expanding access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and communities.

According to the Bretton Woods institution, financing for ANRIN aims to increase the utilisation of quality and cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant women and lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and children under five in select areas.

“The new financing for HOPE-EDU will focus on improving foundational learning, access to basic education, and strengthening education systems in the participating states,” the Bank said.

Initially designed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NG-CARES Program-for-Results (PforR) operation, which has reached over 15 million direct beneficiaries, has evolved into a shock-responsive platform providing multi-sectoral interventions for the poor and vulnerable.

Implemented at the subnational level across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the programme stimulates the local economy through social transfers, labour-intensive public works, livelihood grants, basic community services, agriculture and food security interventions, and support to micro and small enterprises.

“The additional financing will strengthen the program’s extensive reach and positive impact, underscoring the need for continued support in the face of economic hardships, including those from the 2023 fuel subsidy reforms and foreign exchange rate unification.

“Aligned with Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021-2025), the Multisectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (2021-2025), and the Nutrition-774 initiative, ANRiN 2.0 offers an evidence-based, multisectoral approach to combatting malnutrition and food insecurity, focusing on maternal and child health, integrated nutrition services, and household food security.

“The program will increase utilisation of preventive and curative nutrition services, improve maternal and young child feeding practices and dietary diversity, increase access to micronutrient rich foods and provide essential nutritional support to vulnerable populations, mitigating the immediate risks of malnutrition and food insecurity.

“The initial ANRIN program reached over 13 million children under five with nutrition services between 2018 and 2024.

“HOPE-EDU is part of a series of three interrelated operations, alongside HOPE-Governance and HOPE-Primary Health Care.

“It aligns with the country’s Universal Basic Education program objectives and strategies. HOPE-EDU will support structured pedagogy approaches to foundational literacy and numeracy, create learning opportunities where school overcrowding impedes participation, and adopt decentralised allocation and management of Universal Basic Education Intervention Funds, school management, and system information.

The Program is expected to directly benefit 29 million children enrolled in public primary schools, 500,000 public primary teachers, and more than 65,000 public primary schools and their School-Based Management Committees.

“The Program will also receive co-financing in the amount of US$52.18 million from the Global Partnership for Education Fund,” the multilateral development institution stated.

Commenting on the approval, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Dr. Ndiamé Diop said: “Investing in human capital is critical for Nigeria as it offers the best opportunity to unlock the enormous potential of Nigeria. These new set of programs will help Nigeria to accelerate education quality and support to vulnerable citizens.

“The HOPE-EDU program will enable better education outcomes by implementing bold reforms and making the right investments to equip the fast-growing young population with foundational skills and knowledge necessary for rapid and inclusive economic growth.

. “Nutrition interventions from ANRIN will enhance household access to micronutrient rich foods and nutrition services at primary healthcare level, improve dietary diversity, and provide essential nutritional support to vulnerable populations, mitigating the immediate risks of malnutrition and food insecurity.

“The NG-CARES additional financing will support the Nigerian government in transitioning from responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 crisis to building household and community resilience.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria and Japan have launched a strategic venture capital initiative that will channel naira-denominated investments into high-growth startups, shielding them from currency risks while unlocking access to long-term concessional financing.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, met with officials from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) yesterday, to finalise the framework of the fund, which has now received formal approval from the Japanese government.

The Ministry of Finance confirmed the development via a statement issued by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Mohammed Manga.

The NSIA CEO, Aminu Umar-Sadiq confirmed that the initiative satisfies two key conditions set by Edun: mitigating foreign exchange volatility by investing in naira and securing first-loss or grant capital to de-risk private investment.

Umar-Sadiq stated that, “with JICA’s support, this is not just a proposed solution—it’s a fully approved, ready-to-launch initiative.” Umar-Sadiq added.

JICA Director General, Takao Shimokawa announced that diplomatic agreements would be signed within weeks, with full implementation expected thereafter.

Edun welcomed the development, describing it as a timely response to Nigeria’s youthful demography.

“This fund provides critical financial backing across the capital structure—from equity to debt—and is aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for inclusive economic growth,” he stated.

FG, UNIDO Sign $175m Pact to Boost Industrial Growth, Jobs, Economic Transformation

The federal government and UNIDO, yesterday signed a $175 million PCP agreement to aid industrial development, create jobs and drive economic transformation.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning (BEP) Senator Abubakar Bagudu who signed on behalf of the federal government, said the four-year partnership, 2024-2028, marked a milestone in the government’s and UNIDO’s efforts to strengthen industrial growth, create jobs and drive economic transformation.

He said the initiative aims to enhance Nigeria’s industrial capacity, drive technological innovation, and promote environmentally sustainable industrial practices.

The minister pointed out that the programme, would also provide economic opportunities that would impact Nigerians, particularly youths and marginalised groups.

Bagudu explained that the PCP has a funding strategy of 85.7 percent or about $150 million from donor/partners mobilised by UNIDO.

On the other hand, the federal government provides counterpart funding of 14.3 per cent or about $25 million.

The minister further disclosed that Nigeria has so far made a financial commitment of $1.28 million as payment to UNIDO.

He urged all stakeholders including development partners, private sector and civil society to work collaboratively to ensure a seamless implementation of the programme.

In a statement by the ministry’s Director Information and Public Relations, Osagie Jacobs, the minister commended UNIDO for its steadfast partnership and unwavering support for Nigeria’s industrial agenda.

In his remarks, Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, expressed hope that UNIDO would serve as a technical and strategic partner in driving the Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG).

Enoh also urged the stakeholders to, “Let us move together from potential to productivity, from agreement to execution, from policy to prosperity” as PCP is implemented.

The Director General of UNIDO Mr. Gerd Muller, stated that UNIDO has the mandate of ensuring industrial development of member states through the PCP, stressing the pursuit of Goal 9 as its core aspiration.

He said Nigeria has the potential to be the economic powerhouse in Africa.

The PCP focuses on a select number of priority areas essential to the government’s industrial development agenda, particularly job creation, availability of raw materials, export potential and ability to attract investments.

The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning Dr. Emeka Vitalis Obi, noted that the series of engagements between the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments (FMITI) and UNIDO, had solidified government’s commitment to laying a firm foundation for the take-off of PCP in the country.

President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Francis Meshionye, who spoke on behalf of the private sector, hoped that manufacturers in the country will access funding from the programme.

He pledged MAN’s support in achieving key pillars of the country programme. He prayed for more impactful projects that will improve the manufacturing sector in the country.

Senate: New Investment & Security Act to Propel Tinubu’s $1trn Economy

Commenting further on the ISA 2025, Izunaso said the bill, which was assented to last week by Tinubu would end all forms of Ponzi schemes in Nigeria but grow the digital assets as well as cryptocurrency

He explained, “The Investment and Securities Act that has just been signed by Mr. President is a holistic enactment because we repealed the 2007 ISA and re-enacted it in 2025, with the aim of resetting the entire investment and securities law in Nigeria.

“With what we have done, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, the digital assets as well as cryptocurrency has now been recognised as a form of security in Nigeria.

“This means that people can now trade with digital assets, people can now do cryptocurrency and it will be properly regulated by Security and Exchange Commission.

“What it means is that the virtual asset services providers as well as the digital asset operators are today under the purview of SEC.”

Izunaso said Nigeria was about the second or the third globally in terms of cryptocurrency and that a lot of money had passed through the country without it being regulated.

He said, “Today, Mr. President is talking about $1 trillion economy. By signing this Act into law, it means that Nigeria is set for that $1 trillion economy.

“If we want to achieve the $1 trillion economy that Mr. President is envisaging, we must promote both the money market and the capital market. So, today, the capital market has been reset for that purpose.

“I would also like to make it clear that the days of Ponzi, insider trading and market manipulations are over in Nigeria.

“Today, if you are caught in a Ponzi market arrangement, you risk going to jail for 10 years and also pay a fine of between N20 million to N40 million and all the money that you took from people will also be recovered from you.

“Today, we have classified exchanges into two. You now have composite exchange and non-composite.

“Composite means that you can do multiple trading while non-composite is about single security trading. So the whole idea is to enhance proper market regulation and also mitigate risk.

“So this new law is now promoting investors’ confidence, repositioning Nigeria because hitherto, the ISA of 2007, was not in compliance with the International Organisation for Securities Commissions.

“Today, the new law is now arranged in a manner that is now consistent with IOSCO standards and regulations.”

He added: “So you can trade anywhere now in Nigeria internationally, taking it from records known, not the records that are not known as we were doing it before. So there are so many areas.

“Today, we are making it more transparent for you to operate in the capital market.”

The Senator also added that the with the new law, the sub-nationals can now approach the capital market for long-term loans to finance their projects.

He added, “With the new law, states and local governments can approach capital market for long-term funding.

“Instead of relying on federation accounts and commercial borrowing, states and the 774 LGAs can now go to capital market for long-term funding for the projects.”

For now, he said only the Lagos Island Local Government Area has approach the capital market to secure loans to fund their projects

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