FG, UNHCR Seek $10bn Investment to Turn Displacement Zones into Economic Hubs

• UN agency declares over 3.7 million internally displaced people, 140,000 refugees, asylum-seekers in Nigeria

• Bagudu reaffirms commitment to peepening industrial, economic relations with Germany

James Emejo in Abuja

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said the federal government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are seeking to mobilise $10 billion in private investment over five years to rebuild economies and create sustainable livelihoods in communities affected by displacement and fragility across the country.

The proposed investment drive, under the Leadership Alliance for Enterprise, Acceleration and Prosperity (LEAP) initiative, is designed to move the response to displacement beyond humanitarian assistance by attracting private capital into communities where insecurity, poor infrastructure and disrupted economic activity have constrained investment.

The minister disclosed the initiative when he received the UNHCR Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Arjun Jain, who led a delegation to discuss the proposal.

The minister, separately, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to deepening economic and industrial cooperation with Germany and to translating the two countries’ longstanding relationship into concrete investment, technology, and industrial partnerships that support Nigeria’s productive capacity, competitiveness, and sustainable economic transformation.

Bagudu said the economic consequences of displacement could not be addressed simply by returning people to their communities, arguing that sustainable reintegration depended on restoring livelihoods and creating viable opportunities for productive enterprise.

“Displacement, by its very nature, involves disruption. When people are forced to leave their communities, whether because of natural disasters or insecurity, their economic activities are automatically interrupted,” he said.

The minister said displaced people often abandoned farms, fishing grounds, livestock and other sources of livelihood, making economic reconstruction a critical component of rehabilitation.

He said the proposed intervention was consistent with the federal government’s broader development objective of building a more productive and inclusive economy.

He said, “Our objective is therefore clear: the $1 trillion economy we aspire to build must be inclusive and create opportunities across communities.”

Under the proposed arrangement, the government would work with UNHCR, private investors, development finance institutions and other development partners to identify commercially viable projects while addressing some of the risks that have traditionally discouraged investment in fragile communities.

Bagudu said government could legitimately deploy public resources to de-risk private investment, particularly where security and infrastructure deficiencies were preventing otherwise viable businesses from entering communities.

“If a private-sector player wants to invest in a community facing security or infrastructure challenges, it is legitimate for the government to use public resources to help de-risk that investment,” he said.

He identified security support, access roads and other critical infrastructure as areas where public intervention could unlock private capital.

The minister also proposed exploring the use of the National Credit Guarantee Agency and insurance mechanisms to reduce the exposure of investors operating in vulnerable communities.

He said existing World Bank-supported interventions, including the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Strengthening (NG-CARES) and Nigeria for Women programmes, could provide platforms for building partnerships with private investors.

Bagudu further called for the proposed initiative to evolve beyond its initial focus on 10 states, arguing that displacement, insecurity and economic vulnerability were not restricted to specific parts of the country.

He said the government was working towards more localised development planning that would provide a clearer picture of the needs and opportunities across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards.

Such mapping, he explained, would help identify communities affected by displacement, areas hosting displaced populations and the infrastructure and economic constraints limiting their development.

According to him, both displaced and host communities often come under pressure when large populations are uprooted, making coordinated interventions involving federal, state and local governments, businesses and development partners necessary.

He urged stakeholders to begin with a number of practical projects that could demonstrate the viability of the model before scaling it up nationally.

“We should perhaps identify three, four or five projects where we can work together and demonstrate what is possible,” he said.

Bagudu identified agriculture and commodities including oil production and sugar as potential areas for investment, while stressing the need to develop agricultural models suited to communities affected by insecurity.

The minister drew from his experience as governor of Kebbi State during a border delineation exercise involving Nigeria and Benin Republic following the implementation of a World Court judgment.

He said the relocation of some communities demonstrated that displacement was not simply about physical relocation, but also about whether people had sufficient economic opportunities after moving.

Earlier, Jain said the proposed LEAP initiative represented a deliberate effort by UNHCR to move beyond traditional humanitarian interventions towards self-reliance, employment and sustainable livelihoods for displaced people and host communities.

He said UNHCR’s engagement with displaced populations had repeatedly shown that affected people wanted opportunities to rebuild their lives rather than remain dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Nigeria, according to the UNHCR representative, currently has more than 3.7 million internally displaced people, in addition to more than 140,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, underscoring the scale of the economic challenge facing affected communities.

Jain said UNHCR had therefore intensified engagement with private companies, state governments and development partners to create investment-led solutions.

He cited the organisation’s partnership with Tropical General Investments (TGI), which is expanding agricultural livelihood opportunities in Benue and Cross River States.

The three-year partnership announced in June 2026 is expected to support more than 5,000 farmers and create over 10,000 jobs, with refugees, internally displaced persons and members of host communities among the beneficiaries.

Jain said UNHCR was also exploring financing arrangements with development finance institutions and commercial banks to make affordable capital available to farmers, displaced populations and other vulnerable groups.

He added that the agency was deploying community-based early-warning and early-response mechanisms to provide timely information on security developments.

Such systems, he said, could help investors make more informed decisions by providing a more granular understanding of security conditions rather than treating entire states or regions as uniformly high-risk.

Jain said conditions could vary considerably from one local government area or community to another, potentially opening investment opportunities in places that were being broadly classified as too risky.

He said the proposed LEAP framework would bring together government, private investors, development finance institutions and development partners to share risks and create the conditions for investment.

According to him, UNHCR is targeting $10 billion in investment across 10 states over five years, with private companies expected to identify viable opportunities, development finance institutions to provide appropriate financing and governments and development partners to help mitigate risks.

He disclosed that UNHCR had already engaged institutions including British International Investment and the International Finance Corporation on the proposal.

“The only way we can succeed is to bring everyone around the table,” Jain said.

However, speaking at the Germany–Nigeria Industrial Technology Conference, “Business Meets Nigeria”, held in Abuja over the weekend, Bagudu highlighted President Bola Tinubu’s bold economic reforms, aimed at removing structural distortions, strengthening the investment environment and restoring confidence in the private sector.

He stated that the government’s objective is to build an economy in which private enterprise can invest, expand productive capacity, generate jobs and create value.

He noted that Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030 will require strong private-sector participation, greater domestic value addition, and increased investment in manufacturing, mining, construction, and infrastructure, highlighting significant opportunities for German companies in industrial technology, equipment, processing, and infrastructure.

On financing, the minister emphasised the importance of bankable, investment-ready projects and appropriate financing mechanisms, including export credit, development finance, commercial lending and guarantees.

He cited the €300 million German export credit guarantee framework as an important component of the growing economic partnership between Nigeria and Germany.

Meanwhile, Head of the VDMA delegation, Dr. Chux Onaa, noted that German machinery and equipment manufacturers, with expertise across materials handling, cement and minerals processing, digitalisation and environmental technologies, can support Nigeria’s industrial ambitions by delivering solutions that enhance productivity, reliability and long-term competitiveness.

He reaffirmed VDMA’s commitment to translating this engagement into concrete opportunities for technology transfer, investment and industrial collaboration.

Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Nigeria, Johannes Lehne, reiterated the strength of the Nigeria–Germany bilateral relationship, noting that Nigeria’s economic reforms have boosted trade and improved the ease of doing business.

He highlighted the range of financial instruments now available to German and Nigerian companies to scale up private-sector partnerships, describing them as tools that provide competitive financing for their projects—enabling companies to jointly develop the Nigerian market and build a long-term, productive relationship.

The conference reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to deepening economic and industrial cooperation and to translating the longstanding Nigeria–Germany relationship into concrete investment, technology and industrial partnerships that support Nigeria’s productive capacity, competitiveness and sustainable economic transformation.

The gathering formed part of a high-level mission by 14 leading German companies in the cement, mining, construction and industrial technology sectors, who engaged Nigerian companies and stakeholders across Lagos and Abuja to identify partnerships for investment and industrial development.