Nigerian Stakeholders Urge Legislative Support for Impact Investing

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s impact investing sector have called for robust legislation and policies to enhance investments in underserved areas. This appeal was made at the launch of the Sustainable Systems for Research and Innovation Financing project, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) under the Research and Innovation Systems in Africa initiative, held on Tuesday in Lagos.

The project aims to strengthen the capacity of enterprise support organisations, establish sustainable financing mechanisms for enterprise support and venture funds, and create efficient linkages between businesses, investors, and transaction advisors. It also seeks to bolster local ecosystems, research, and institutional capacities.

Etemore Glover, Chief Executive Officer of the Impact Investors Foundation, which organised the event, emphasised the foundation’s efforts to enhance awareness and understanding of impact investing. “We are working with policymakers through various capacity-building programs to increase knowledge and awareness of impact investment. We are partnering with the Nigeria Philanthropy Office on impact investments and will advocate for legislation to support impact investments in Nigeria,” Glover stated.

Tolulope Makinwa-Adeniyi, CEO of Muazu Africa, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the need for policy support for social enterprises. “We need to push for tax incentives to attract impact investors. This requires the involvement of both private and public stakeholders. Legislation and reforms will make it easier to bridge the gap between early-stage enterprises and capital,” Makinwa-Adeniyi said. Muazu Africa focuses on connecting early-stage enterprises with necessary resources such as capital and market access.

Charles Odii, Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting SMEs, which constitute over 96 per cent of all businesses in Nigeria. “For us at SMEDAN, we are dedicated to ensuring these enterprises thrive, recognising their vital role in our economic landscape and their significant contribution to our GDP,” Odii noted.

The United Nations defines impact investing as the deployment of funds into investments that generate measurable and beneficial social or environmental impacts alongside financial returns.