The United Kingdom Government-funded Manufacturing Africa programme has facilitated 23 successful investment deals in Nigeria, mobilising more than $630 million and supporting the creation or safeguarding of over 21,400 direct jobs in the country.
The milestone was disclosed in Lagos at an event attended by business leaders, investors, government representatives and development partners to mark six years of the programme’s intervention in Nigeria’s investment ecosystem.
The event also featured the launch of the Fundraising Toolkit, a free digital resource designed to help Nigerian and African businesses strengthen their investment readiness, attract capital and navigate the fundraising process.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Senior Press & Public Affairs Officer, Ndidiamaka Eze Speaking at the event, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, said the achievements demonstrated the contribution of investment facilitation to economic growth and job creation.
“I am delighted to celebrate six years of the UK’s Manufacturing Africa programme and recognise the 23 Nigerian businesses it has supported. Together, these transactions have mobilised more than $630 million in investment and have the potential to create or safeguard over 21,400 direct jobs,” Baxter said.
He described the Fundraising Toolkit as an important legacy of the programme, saying it would continue to provide businesses with practical resources to attract investment and expand their operations.
“It captures practical lessons from these success stories and will continue to equip Nigerian businesses with tools, insights, and connections they need to attract investment, raise capital and scale, long after the programme has ended,” he said.
Baxter added that the partnership was helping to strengthen economic ties between Nigeria and the UK by supporting businesses to unlock capital, expand their operations and create employment.
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Also speaking, the British High Commissioner, Pete Vowles, emphasised the importance of helping businesses understand how to access commercial finance and deploy such funding to support expansion.
“It’s great to see companies coming together, figuring out how to access commercial finance, so they can then grow their businesses,” he said.
He noted that he was particularly interested in seeing how businesses that had benefited from the programme would use the new toolkit to support further growth and share their experiences with other companies.
“I’m really interested to hear what they have done, and how they are going to use the new toolkit to continue and promote what they are doing for other companies to grow their businesses because that would be where we get real success,” he added.
The Team Leader of Manufacturing Africa, Thomas Pascoe, described the launch of the toolkit as a significant milestone for the programme.
According to Pascoe, the resource brings together more than six years of practical fundraising experience and lessons from businesses that successfully navigated the investment process.
“The launch of the Fundraising Toolkit marks an important milestone for Manufacturing Africa. It brings together more than six years of practical fundraising experience, including the tools, insights and lessons that have helped businesses across the continent navigate the fundraising process and secure investment,” Pascoe said.
He disclosed that 23 Nigerian businesses had successfully reached financial close with support from Manufacturing Africa, raising close to $630 million in total.
“Their achievements demonstrate what is possible when businesses have access to the right tools, guidance and connections to capital. Many of the approaches that supported these fundraising journeys are now captured in the Toolkit, a first-of-its-kind resource in Africa,” he said.
Pascoe said the programme aimed to make the resource available to a wider range of businesses, enabling them to improve their investment readiness, engage investors more confidently and secure capital for expansion.
The Fundraising Toolkit draws on Manufacturing Africa’s experience across Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Senegal.
It incorporates lessons from more than 300 investment opportunities and over 70 financial closes, alongside insights from more than 23 international investors, including development finance institutions, private equity firms and impact investors.
The programme has so far supported more than 300 companies across six target markets and helped mobilise more than £2 billion in foreign direct investment, exceeding its original £1.2 billion target.
It has also supported the creation of more than 150,000 direct and indirect jobs, with women accounting for 43 per cent of beneficiaries.
