Stakeholders in the Nigerian impact investment ecosystem have highlighted the importance of policy support from the government to unlock capital for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
This was one of the outcomes of the deliberations at the High-Level Roundtable with policymakers and investors in Lagos on Monday.
The roundtable was a pre-event of the 2025 Africa Impact Summit Study Tour to Nigeria, convened by the Impact Investors Foundation, Impact Investing Ghana, GSG Impact, Alitheia Capital, and Kuramo Capital, which emphasised the Nigerian government’s critical bridge role in unlocking capital for the approximately 40 million MSMEs operating in the country.
Delivering remarks at the event, Dr Emeka Obi, the immediate past Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and current Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, underscored the government’s commitment to fostering economic growth.
“The vision of this study tour is a testament to Africa being a hub for sustainable development,” he said.
Obi went on to commend the event organisers for arranging a “space where global investors, African entrepreneurs, and development institutions, as well as public sector leaders like us, can engage, exchange, and co-create.” Now, these conversations are not only timely, but they are necessary.
“Nigeria is a resilient country. Nigeria is deeply blessed, and everything follows the leadership. That’s why we must have a good situation. We are not living in a place where there is manipulation. That’s why we need effective policy changes, and we need the policy implementation to affect not just us but even the coming generation.”
The Fireside Chat featured an engaging conversation between two global voices in the impact investing movement, the Chief Executive Officer of GSG Impact, Ms. Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen, and the Chair of GSG Nigeria Partner and Vice Chair of GSG Impact, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika.
Davidsen, sharing insights into her vision for her role, said, “My ambition is really to strengthen and enable this network, and that means building out new partners here in Africa and other places in the world, particularly in Asia as well. It means, how do we make sure that the network has what it needs to be effective, and that’s, in certain instances, trying to leverage resources to be able to have a strong independent secretariat, sort of navigating these new chapters.
“We’re also trying to develop new policy tools and to advocate effectively with our policy tools. And then the third area that we’re quite focused on is a bit of a newer area for us, but it is to enable and catalyse investment vehicles. What can we do as a global organisation to shine a light on investment vehicles that are being originated here by the national chapters for all the right reasons in the global context? Our job is to help crowd in some capital for that, both to help stand up the structures and also to, of course, build out and to see additional investment capital coming into the structures.”
Awosika, in her comments, hammered on the need to find local solutions, saying, “In the end, we have to find local solutions, and we have to build together. That is the real message for all of us, and that’s the homework that we have. How do we do this within our continent and country, working together? I mean, I can tell you proudly that Nigeria and Ghana have been great at collaborating. We have the West African deal summit every year, which was started by Nigeria and Ghana. We have the deal platform, you know, which was built by Nigeria and Ghana, which allows businesses to go on there to search for investors and for connections to be made, and we have deals that have been consummated on the platform.
“I know the reason I’m saying this is because I know this room has a lot of minds who are emotionally invested in creating impact and therefore drive impact investment from different sides of it but also who can create solutions that are local and will change the lives of our people. And for every change, there’s always an opportunity for further change, because it allows us to innovate differently because of the last change.”
The discussion also spotlighted Africa’s vital role in sustainable development, with Davidsen affirming GSG Impact’s commitment to fostering partnerships across the continent and advocating impact economies that prioritise people and the planet alongside profit.
A panel moderated by the Market Development Manager at GSG Impact, Ms Atieno Otonglo, featuring leaders from Nigeria’s impact investing ecosystem, Ms Tosin Ojo (Sahel Capital), Mr Oguche Agudah (CEO, PENOP), Ms Kudzayi Hove (CEO, Amayi Foods), and Mr Labi Williams (Partner, Kuramo Capital), emphasised the urgent need for local investors in the private sector to invest in Nigerian MSMEs while also highlighting the importance of de-risking impact funds to attract returns-driven investors.
Ms. Ojo posed a crucial question: “How do we generate returns in the face of the risks we face in the environment? We need catalytic capital to de-risk investment. How do we collaborate to generate the outcomes we want to see in impact investment?”
Regulatory progress was also lauded, with the SEC’s crowdfunding policy cited as a game changer for SME financing, a model that enables private sector participation and inclusive growth. Panellists praised Nigeria’s early adoption of the ISSB framework for standardised impact measurement, positioning the country as a leader in impact transparency that other African markets can emulate.
As the session drew to a close, panellists called for deeper collaboration between investors, regulators, and intermediaries to build an ecosystem that is both investor-friendly and impact-driven.
The event also featured Impact Fund Showcases by Mr. Danladi Verheijen of Verod Capital and Ms. Yewande Adewusi of Alitheia Capital, further reinforcing the momentum and opportunities for impact investing in Nigeria.
The study tour featured a tour of impactful businesses in the country, including AfyA Care, which invests in healthcare assets with a vision to make healthcare accessible and affordable; Salpha Energy, a company addressing the huge market need for renewable energy; and SKLD, a technology-enabled manufacturing and sourcing solutions company.
