Limited access to finance, irregular power supply, persistent insecurity, and high rental costs constrained Nigeria business activities in April. These headwinds resulted in a fragile and uneven recovery, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) said in a report on Tuesday.
According to the NESG Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) May 2026 report, Current Business Performance Index rose slightly to 102.1 points from 101.2 in March. This marks the fourth consecutive month of expansion despite significant structural momentum loss.
Agriculture and Non-Manufacturing sectors drove the marginal growth, rebounding from previous slumps. Agriculture reached 103.2 points, benefiting from festive demand, while Non-Manufacturing hit 101.6 points.
Conversely, Manufacturing fell into contraction at 98.7 points. Key sub-sectors like Cement and Textile suffered as high operating costs and credit scarcity stifled new investments.
Services momentum also weakened to 101.5 points. Notably, the Real Estate sub-sector moved into contraction for the first time in over a year, signaling emerging sector-wide vulnerability.
Investment and export indices remain stuck in the contraction zone. Managers expressed cautious optimism for the next quarter, though Middle East geopolitical tensions threaten to spike energy costs.
This data follows recent reports of Nigeria’s gross external reserves hitting $48 billion in February 2026. However, persistent inflation continues to challenge the Central Bank’s monetary policy effectiveness.
“Meanwhile, business activities were largely constrained by limited access to finance, irregular power supply, persistent insecurity, and high rental costs during the month.” NESG noted in a report.
The NESG Future Business Expectations Index stood at 128.6 points. Trade and Manufacturing show the strongest outlook, even as businesses grapple with infrastructure bottlenecks and high input prices.
