In a significant development for Nigeria’s infrastructure finance landscape, the Mobilist Programme, operating under the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), has sold its shareholding in InfraCredit, Nigeria’s only domestic infrastructure credit guarantor, to five Nigerian institutional investors, including pension funds and insurers.
This deal, announced on Monday, marks the largest secondary share transaction in InfraCredit since its introduction to the NASD OTC Exchange in April 2025. The move is aimed at deepening domestic participation in financing the country’s infrastructure projects.
Under the transaction, five local investors, with four of them becoming shareholders in InfraCredit for the first time, acquired the stake previously held by the UK’s Mobilist Programme.
In his commentary, the UK’s Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, said the deal reflects the UK’s strategy of “transformational investments that unlock commercial markets,” calling InfraCredit “a success story now being driven by Nigerian capital.”
The CEO of InfraCredit, Chinua Azubike, described the exit as a proud milestone that validates the company’s long-term aim of shifting from foreign catalytic capital to sustained local institutional ownership. He added: “We are delighted to welcome four new Nigerian pension funds to our ownership base,” noting the growing confidence from domestic investors as a sign of maturity in Nigeria’s capital markets.
Additionally, the Mobilist Programme Lead at FCDO, Ross Ferguson, pointed out that this transaction demonstrates how development finance can generate impact beyond an initial investment by recycling capital and increasing liquidity in public markets.
InfraCredit plays a unique role in Nigeria’s infrastructure sector: it provides Naira-denominated guarantees to infrastructure debt instruments, which in turn reduce risk and enhance creditworthiness, allowing pension funds and institutional investors to funnel long-term financing into major infrastructure projects.
Financially, the UK’s FCDO, via the Mobilist programme, initially invested approximately N9.5 billion (around US$6 million) during InfraCredit’s listing. That listing helped the company raise about N27 billion (around US$17.7 million) in total. The latest sale has resulted in local institutional investors gaining over 27% of InfraCredit’s ordinary equity.
This transaction boosts Nigeria’s infrastructure financing capacity and signals a shift towards domestic capital mobilisation, supporting job creation, economic growth, and improved infrastructure. By enabling local pension funds to invest in long-term assets, the deal may strengthen domestic financial markets, reduce reliance on foreign funding, and help contain currency risks.
