The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced an ambitious 2026 plan focused on mobilizing long-term capital to address Nigeria’s persistent infrastructure deficit, which is expected to ease financing constraints for small and medium-sized enterprises operating across critical sectors.
The new roadmap follows a year in which businesses, including many small and medium-sized enterprises, relied heavily on short-term financial instruments such as commercial paper due to tight liquidity and high interest rates. In a New Year message in Abuja, the SEC Director-General said the commission would prioritize directing patient funds to productive sectors including road construction, power, railways, housing and agriculture, areas where lack of infrastructure continues to drive up operating costs for companies.
According to the European Commission, achieving this transformation will require updating existing regulatory frameworks to make capital markets more accessible to long-term issuers, especially state governments, infrastructure companies and companies along key value chains. Promoting the issuance of infrastructure bonds, municipal bonds, green bonds, and infrastructure-specific funds will be central to the 2026 pipeline, with the aim of directing stable funding to projects that support economic activity and business growth.
Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, estimated at more than $100 billion, continues to impact businesses through poor transport networks, unreliable electricity supplies, limited rail connections, housing shortages and slow broadband expansion. The SEC believes that increasing long-term financing is critical to reversing years of underinvestment that has disproportionately affected small and medium-sized businesses, particularly manufacturers, agribusinesses, and service providers that rely on basic infrastructure.
Agriculture and housing are receiving targeted attention under a new agenda. The commission plans to encourage the listing of more agribusinesses and create customized market entry options for agricultural cooperatives and value chain companies, measures aimed at reducing price risks, increasing farmers’ incomes and strengthening food security. The SEC also aims to expand product-related products that would allow small investors and companies to more actively participate in this space.
In the housing sector, the regulator plans to revive real estate investment trusts and introduce affordable housing bonds to secure funding for large-scale housing deliveries. These initiatives are expected to stimulate construction activity and create opportunities for MSMEs involved in building materials, logistics and related services.
Support for manufacturing and power sector financing is also planned, and the European Commission is reviewing rules to attract more listings from small and medium-sized companies in manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceuticals and finished goods. By improving access to patient capital, the SEC aims to help factories expand production, reduce import dependence, and strengthen regional value chains. In the power sector, financing options include infrastructure bonds, green energy bonds, and project-backed securities for grid expansion, renewable energy, and embedded generation projects.
The SEC said 2026 represents an opportunity to reposition capital markets as drivers of national development, especially at a time when funding mismatches are limiting long-term investments. In 2025, many companies turned to short-term commercial paper, typically between 90 and 270 days, to meet their operational needs, with approvals exceeding N1.3 trillion by October. Analysts warn that this dependence increases refinancing risks and discourages investment in sectors that require long-term financing.
By shifting focus to long-term capital formation, the European Commission’s 2026 Agenda signals a move that could provide more sustainable financing options for MSMEs, support infrastructure development and strengthen Nigeria’s broader economic growth prospects.
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