Infrastructure Finance Professionals in Nigeria - Financing Mix

Infrastructure Finance, Explained. #01 Nigeria doesn't have an infrastructure problem because we don't know what to build. We have an infrastructure financing problem. The ICRC estimates Nigeria's infrastructure gap at about $2.3 trillion. We need roughly $100 billion a year, and government spending covers less than 30% of that. The 2026 budget shows why. Of ₦68.32 trillion in total expenditure, ₦15.8 trillion goes to debt service. Government should still finance infrastructure, but it can't carry the whole load. Different pools of capital can play different roles: ▪️ Government: policy, guarantees, viability-gap funding, regulation ▪️ DFIs: de-risking, patient capital, project preparation ▪️ Pension funds and insurers: long-term local capital ▪️ Private investors: equity, expertise, operational discipline ▪️ Capital markets: a wider pool of long-term money We already have proof this works. InfraCredit reports ₦324 billion in guaranteed infrastructure debt, 27 projects at financial close, and 20 pension fund investors, with tenors of up to 20 years. My take: government, DFIs, institutional investors and private capital aren't competitors. They're layers of the same financing structure. ₦1 of public money used to prepare a project, absorb a risk or enhance credit can unlock several naira of private capital. The World Bank Group mobilised a record $112 billion in private capital in the fiscal year ending June 2026, alongside $123 billion of its own financing. So the question isn't only "where do we find more money?" It's also "how do we structure projects so the money that already exists can work together?" That takes better project preparation, clearer risk allocation, predictable regulation, credible revenue models and deeper local-currency capital markets. If Nigeria needs about $100 billion a year, what should the ideal financing mix look like across government, DFIs, pension funds, banks and private investors? I'd like to hear from people working in infrastructure, finance and development. #InfrastructureFinance #Nigeria #PPP #CapitalMarkets #InfrastructureDevelopment