UNCDF in Nigeria

Scaling agribusiness investment for food security in Nigeria

UNCDF is supporting the growth of local agribusinesses in Nigeria through the Africa Adaptation Initiative Food Security Accelerator running from 2023 to 2028. With funding from the Africa Adaptation Initiative, supported by the U.S. Department of State and the Government of Canada, the programme uses catalytic finance and technical support to strengthen food systems, create jobs, and improve resilience.

In 2026, UNCDF unlocked a $1,000,000 concessional loan to Aerobic Agroforestry Limited. The financing supports the expansion of plantain processing and the production of improved, disease-free seedlings. By enabling the company to operate across production, processing, and input supply, the investment addresses two key constraints: limited access to quality inputs and unreliable market access for farmers.

This integrated approach helps reduce post-harvest losses, increase productivity, and create a stable market for smallholder farmers, while retaining more value within the local economy and positioning the business to attract further private investment.

Strengthening local nutrition supply chains in Nigeria

The Nutrition Supplier Finance Facility is a joint initiative between UNCDF and UNICEF, launched in 2024 with support from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) to strengthen local production of life-saving nutrition in Nigeria.

In February 2025, UNCDF made its first investment under the facility, providing a $2.5 million loan to Ariel Foods FZE, a Nigerian producer of therapeutic food used to treat severely malnourished children. The financing supports the installation of equipment to process peanuts and other locally grown crops, enabling more of this essential nutrition to be produced using domestic inputs.

By strengthening local production and sourcing, the initiative is expected to create stable income opportunities for up to 1,500 smallholder farmers, reduce the cost of delivering nutrition aid, and help partners including UNICEF reach an estimated 25,000 additional children each year by 2030.

Catalyzing local finance for sanitation, hygiene and wastewater

UNCDF is establishing an investment facility to support MSMEs operating in the sanitation, hygiene, and wastewater economy. The initiative focuses on expanding access to local-currency financing through a Nigerian network of partner financial institutions, enabling capital to reach underserved businesses across the country.

By deploying catalytic finance the facility addresses a key constraint in the sector: limited access to affordable and appropriate financing for local enterprises. It demonstrates how blended finance can reduce risk for financial institutions, strengthen lending to MSMEs, and unlock domestic capital for essential services.