The European Union (EU) and development finance institutions will provide $1.4-billion in funding aimed at cutting its reliance on oil.
The funds for agriculture, climate and digital projects will help Africa’s largest oil producer, “achieve low carbon, resource efficient and climate resilient development, creating jobs for youth and economic growth,” Samuela Isopi, EU ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, said at a conference in Lagos.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is encouraging investments in agriculture and technology-based infrastructure to reduce its dependence on oil and accelerate growth. While crude contributes about 7% to the country’s gross domestic product, it accounts for nearly all foreign-exchange earnings and more than half of government revenue.
The funding will support 60 projects through to 2027, Isopi said in an interview. They include a fish farm in the southwestern Ogun State and a waste-to-energy initiative in the southern Cross River state, according to a document emailed by the EU.