The Lagos State Government has invited investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and private sector stakeholders to register for Invest Lagos 3.0, an investment summit designed to attract local and international capital into the state’s growing economy.
The invitation was reinforced by the Honourable Commissioner for the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment (MCCTI), Mrs Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, during the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit where she spoke on the “Mobilising Capital for Growth in Emerging Markets” panel.
According to the Commissioner, global investors are becoming more selective about where they commit capital, with stronger attention now placed on governance, policy stability, regulatory clarity, and the ability of governments to execute projects effectively.
She explained that markets that want to attract sustainable investment must go beyond promises and focus on reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks, improving transparency, and maintaining policy consistency.
Speaking about Lagos, Ambrose-Medebem said the state has spent the last decade deliberately building what she described as an “architecture of predictability” despite the pressure of managing a city with over 25 million residents.
She noted that this long-term approach has strengthened investor confidence in Lagos and improved the state’s ability to access capital markets on competitive terms.
More importantly, she said Lagos has moved away from opportunistic investment drives and is now focused on building long-term investment pipelines backed by infrastructure development, structured risk-sharing, and policy certainty.
“This strategy is not aspirational, it is operational,” the Commissioner stated.
She pointed to the state’s issuance of more than ₦244 billion in green and conventional bonds as evidence of Lagos’ commitment to disciplined and forward-looking financial management.
The Commissioner also addressed what she described as a major challenge facing markets like Lagos — the tendency of international investors to assess African economies through broad and oversimplified risk assumptions.
According to her, this creates the false impression that risks in markets like Lagos outweigh the opportunities.
She explained that while issues such as currency volatility, infrastructure gaps, and regulatory complexity exist, many investors fail to recognise the resilience and innovation already driving businesses within the state.
Ambrose-Medebem highlighted sectors including fintech, logistics, health-tech, and retail, where Lagos-based companies are building globally competitive businesses despite structural challenges.
She added that another major misconception is the underestimation of Lagos’ consumer market and commercial scale.
According to the Commissioner, Lagos alone represents a market larger than many African economies, supported by a rapidly growing and increasingly financially literate population.
However, she noted that much of this economic activity remains informal or underrepresented in global datasets, leading to poor pricing of investment opportunities and missed economic potential.
To solve this, she encouraged a shift from what she called “distance investing” to deeper engagement between international investors and local institutions.
This, she explained, would involve foreign investors partnering with domestic businesses, co-investing with local players, and relying more on local market realities instead of external assumptions.
She said the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment is actively working to improve investor access by strengthening regulatory clarity, improving visibility around investment pipelines, and creating easier access to investment-ready opportunities across Lagos.
Building on previous editions of the summit, Ambrose-Medebem said Invest Lagos 1.0 and 2.0 helped reposition Lagos from being viewed as a frontier market to becoming a more structured and investable ecosystem.
She added that Invest Lagos 3.0 will further expand that vision through a partnership with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), which is expected to connect investors with new opportunities while increasing private sector participation and deal-making.
Invest Lagos 3.0 is scheduled to take place in Lagos in June 2026.
According to the organisers, the summit is designed to move investors from awareness to active participation by giving them direct access to opportunities within the Lagos economy.
“We look forward to welcoming you,” the organisers said.
To participate, visit – InvestLagos.org registration link: lagosinvest.org/invest-in-lagos-3#register
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