Nigeria Targets Investment-Grade Rating with UNDP, Canada and EU Support
Nigeria’s ambition to secure an investment-grade sovereign credit rating has received renewed international support, with the United Nations Development Programme, the Government of Canada and the European Union pledging technical and development cooperation to strengthen the country’s credit profile.
The development partners restated their commitment at a High-Level Debriefing Meeting on the Credit Ratings Needs Assessment Mission for Nigeria, organised by UNDP in Abuja.
The meeting, themed “Shaping the Future of Development Finance: Nigeria’s Sovereign Credit Ratings,” brought together senior government officials, financial experts and international partners to identify reforms required to improve the country’s standing before global rating agencies.
Participants described stronger sovereign creditworthiness as essential to reducing Nigeria’s borrowing costs, expanding fiscal space and attracting long-term investment into infrastructure, healthcare, education, energy, transportation and job-creating industries.
Nigeria remains below investment grade, although recent rating actions suggest that international assessments of its macroeconomic position are improving. In May 2026, S&P Global Ratings upgraded Nigeria from B- to B, citing progress in the country’s external and macroeconomic profile. Fitch had earlier affirmed Nigeria at B with a stable outlook.
Credit rating as a development priority
UNDP Chief Economist for Africa, Dr Raymond Gilpin, urged Nigeria to treat the pursuit of investment-grade status as a national development imperative rather than a narrow debt-management exercise.
Gilpin said the difference between investment-grade and non-investment-grade ratings was substantial because it determined the price at which governments and businesses could access international capital.
He noted that traditional development assistance was declining at a time when financing needs across Africa were rising, making credit ratings increasingly influential in determining which countries could attract affordable capital.
According to him, moving Nigeria into the investment-grade category would lower financing costs, release more public resources for development and improve the country’s ability to mobilise private investment.
Gilpin stressed that success would require a whole-of-government approach built on reliable economic data, sustained policy implementation, institutional coordination and consistent engagement with international rating agencies.
He said Africa loses an estimated $74.5 billion annually because of higher borrowing costs associated with perceived weaknesses and subjectivity in sovereign risk assessments. UNDP research has similarly highlighted how elevated credit costs reduce the resources available to African governments for infrastructure, health, education and climate action.
Gilpin said UNDP had established the Africa Credit Ratings Initiative in partnership with African and international institutions to provide technical advice, strengthen government capacity and promote knowledge-sharing among public officials.
The initiative forms part of a broader UNDP programme designed to help African governments improve their engagement with rating agencies and secure more accurate assessments of economic risk. Its resource platform tracks rating actions and supports technical learning across the continent.
He added that Nigeria’s recent rating improvements had placed the country on a clearer path towards investment-grade status, but warned that the gains must be protected through policy continuity and stronger institutions.
Canada links ratings to $1trn ambition
Arash Irantalab, Counsellor and Head of Development Cooperation at the High Commission of Canada to Nigeria, said improved ratings would increase investor confidence and enable Nigeria to secure more affordable financing.
He said cheaper capital could accelerate investment in healthcare, education, clean energy, infrastructure and employment creation while reducing the cost of development projects.
Irantalab described stronger sovereign creditworthiness as an important contributor to Nigeria’s aspiration of becoming a $1 trillion economy.
He noted that sovereign ratings affect more than federal borrowing. They also influence the financing conditions available to banks, utilities, state-owned enterprises and private companies because the sovereign rating often acts as a benchmark—or ceiling—for domestic borrowers.
Irantalab said a stronger rating would encourage fiscal transparency, reinforce public institutions and deepen commercial relations between Nigeria and Canada.
He added that non-oil trade between both countries had increased by about 50 per cent within one year, reflecting the potential for stronger bilateral economic ties.
EU seeks transparent, investible economy
The Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Massimo De Luca, said Nigeria deserved stronger international investor confidence supported by credible, transparent economic management.
De Luca described the UNDP programme as a neutral and professional platform through which Nigerian institutions could improve coordination and present the country’s economic performance more effectively to rating agencies.
He reaffirmed the EU’s interest in supporting investment in renewable energy, healthcare, digital infrastructure and transportation, noting that improved sovereign ratings would make Nigeria more attractive to European capital.
European businesses, he said, remained optimistic about the scale of Nigeria’s market despite concerns about access to finance, logistics, energy reliability and the repatriation of dividends.
De Luca called for greater transparency and accountability, alongside an operating environment that protects citizens while providing investors with predictable rules and secure investments.
Presidency targets investment grade before 2030
Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Dr Tope Fasua, said President Bola Tinubu remained committed to Nigeria attaining investment-grade status before 2030.
Fasua said the Presidency and Federal Ministry of Finance would work with relevant ministries, departments and agencies to implement recommendations arising from the UNDP assessment.
He argued that reforms including foreign-exchange liberalisation and the removal of petrol subsidies had created a stronger foundation for long-term growth, notwithstanding the immediate economic pressures experienced by households and businesses.
According to him, improvements recorded by Fitch and S&P demonstrated rising international confidence in the reform programme.
Fasua urged public institutions and private-sector stakeholders to provide accurate, consistent information about the economy, warning that fragmented data and unbalanced narratives could influence international risk assessments.
The government’s ambition remains demanding. Investment grade generally begins at BBB- under the S&P and Fitch scales and Baa3 under Moody’s. Nigeria’s current B-category assessments therefore leave several rating levels to be crossed.
Government promises sustained reforms
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, reiterated the government’s commitment to improving Nigeria’s sovereign credit profile through sustained fiscal and structural reforms.
Oyedele said reforms undertaken over the previous three years had improved macroeconomic stability, strengthened the foreign-exchange market, enhanced fiscal sustainability and helped rebuild investor confidence.
He said recent actions by Moody’s, Fitch and S&P, alongside assessments from the International Monetary Fund, indicated that external institutions were beginning to recognise the direction of Nigeria’s reform programme.
Oyedele was serving as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy by mid-2026, according to official government records.
He pledged that the government would continue improving data quality, inter-agency coordination and communication with rating agencies so that Nigeria’s economic fundamentals were accurately represented.
Market and investor implications
An improved sovereign rating could reduce the risk premium attached to Nigerian government bonds and make future Eurobond issues less expensive.
The effect would extend across the economy. Banks and large companies often borrow at rates linked to sovereign risk, meaning a stronger national rating could lower financing costs for corporate expansion, power projects, telecommunications infrastructure and industrial investment.
A better rating could also widen the pool of institutional investors permitted to hold Nigerian securities. Many pension funds and conservative investment mandates restrict exposure to non-investment-grade assets.
Yet ratings cannot improve sustainably through public relations alone. Investors will continue to examine inflation, public revenue, debt-service costs, foreign-exchange liquidity, policy predictability, security and the government’s capacity to translate reform into inclusive growth.
Brand implications
For Nigeria, sovereign creditworthiness is also a national-brand asset.
A stronger rating would support the country’s positioning as a credible investment destination and reinforce its “open for business” proposition. Conversely, policy reversals, weak data and inconsistent communication can damage confidence even when underlying economic indicators are improving.
The government must therefore align policy performance with disciplined economic storytelling. Credibility will come from independently verifiable results rather than optimistic messaging alone.
BRANDECONOMY Insight
An Investment-grade rating status would be transformative for Nigeria, but it is unlikely to arrive through one reform, one favourable assessment or one successful investor roadshow.
It will require years of fiscal discipline, stronger revenue mobilisation, predictable monetary policy, reliable data and institutions capable of maintaining reform momentum beyond political cycles.
Nigeria must also ensure that the pursuit of a better rating does not become detached from citizens’ welfare. A sovereign upgrade has limited developmental meaning unless cheaper capital translates into productive investment, stronger public services, jobs and improved living standards.
The real objective is therefore not merely to impress rating agencies. It is to build an economy whose resilience, transparency and growth performance make an investment-grade rating inevitable.
