Nigeria is France’s first buying and selling accomplice in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In a current interplay with the Consul General of France in Lagos, Mr. Laurent Favier, he highlighted that the relationship between France and Nigeria has been scaling-up over the final years. Therefore, it isn’t stunning to see this bilateral relationship deepen in the areas of economic and commercial relations, which is now shifting from intention to execution, pushed by lively diplomatic engagement and private-sector councils: bilateral commerce between the two nations reached $4.7 billion in 2025.
As an instance, he acknowledged that in September 2026, landmark agreements have been pushed ahead in
Paris, witnessed by President Bola Tinubu, and included partnerships to develop the Gateway Deep Sea Port and the related Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, whereas French manufacturers are scaling up operations in Nigeria’s large client market. Notable current commercial integrations embody expansions by retail large Carrefour, the Accor hospitality Group, and Canal+ making main strikes in the leisure trade through its acquisition technique with MultiChoice.
Initiatives like the current creation of the Franco-Nigerian Agri-Business Club – a platform devoted to selling collaboration between France and Nigeria in the area of agrofood trade, will allow French agribusiness gamers to put money into native capability constructing, agricultural mechanization, agro-processing, and the discount of post-harvest losses inside Nigeria and create a platform for growth in the sector.
He acknowledged that established firms like TotalEnergies, CMA-CGM, SPIE, Schneider Electric, and Danone proceed to speculate extra and develop their operations in Nigeria. Beyond power commerce, over 100 French firms function instantly on Nigerian soil throughout prescribed drugs, agriculture, insurance coverage, logistics, transport, infrastructure and hospitality, producing greater than 14,000 direct native jobs. With French overseas direct funding inventory standing at 8.1 billion euros in 2025, our presence is rooted in a long-term dedication to joint economic creation and sustainable development.
The French Week is geared toward strategically showcasing these achievements whereas increasing the relationship between France and Nigeria.
The President of the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Guillaume Niarfeix additionally acknowledged that the French Week 2026 will give attention to turning dialogue between French and Nigerian companies into concrete partnerships. The week-long program, rated the largest C-level enterprise networking occasion in Nigeria, will happen in Lagos from 30 October to six November 2026.
Mr. Niarfeix stated that French funding was already seen throughout Nigerian cities and sectors. In power, he famous TotalEnergies’ 2024 ultimate funding choice with NNPC on the Ubeta fuel area, which is earmarked to feed the Nigeria LNG Train 7 and, extra just lately, the IMA venture. In transport and logistics, he pointed to the Omi Eko venture, wherein France–via AFD, alongside the European Union and the European Investment Bank assist, is ready to convey 75 electrical ferries, 25 upgraded terminals and 15 routes overlaying 140 kilometers to Lagos’s waterways. He additionally cited the Lekki Deep Sea Port, whose CMA-CGM container terminal agreed to function, and which has a 14-metre draft and capability for two.5 million TEUs a 12 months.
France’s Attractiveness for Nigerian buyers.
The FNCCI President added that the Chamber had additionally been taking its work past Lagos. He cited its first Executive Paris Leadership Training Program and Business Mission, held earlier this 12 months, which introduced Nigerian executives into contact with French buyers, establishments and policymakers.
Indeed, with the opening of a French Desk by Access Bank in Paris, the majority of Nigeria’s largest monetary establishments at the moment are current in France (Access Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa, and First Bank of Nigeria), the Consul General of France stated. In the agrifood and agroindustry sector, two Nigerian firms at the moment are established: JR Farms in the manufacturing and export of espresso, animal feed, and cassava processing merchandise, and Babafood, in the importexport of agro-industrial merchandise. The Flour Mills of Nigeria Group has expressed its want to develop there. Nigeria was in a position to current its pavilion at the International Agriculture Show in 2026, for the second time after the 2024 version. In the power sector, GecX60, and IoT (Internet of Things) tech start-up, arrange its R&D centre in the Orange Group incubator positioned in Blagnac. Convexity, a consulting supplier in blockchain and fee options for NGOs, is ready to determine its first European workplace in Paris.
Mr. Niarfeix counseled the Federal Government for its persevering with reforms and its efforts to enhance the ease of doing enterprise, which he stated gave native and overseas buyers a firmer basis to speculate. He stated French firms continued to see Nigeria as a strategic accomplice and not solely a market.
The President thanked the Nigerian Government, the French Embassy, the French Consulate General in Lagos and the economic and commercial Departments (French Treasury and Business France in Nigeria), the sponsors and companions, and the press for his or her long-standing assist.
About Team France
The Consulate General of France in Lagos, the Embassy of France in Abuja, along with the varied establishments that make up the Team France, work daily to deepen bilateral cooperation and foster lasting partnerships between our two international locations. These efforts span a variety of sectors, together with commerce, funding, training, tradition, innovation and sustainable improvement.
Team France brings collectively a various community of actors, together with Business France and the
Economic Department, which assist economic and commercial trade; the French Development Agency and its subsidiaries Proparco and Expertise France, which contribute to sustainable improvement initiatives; the French Foreign Trade Advisors; the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the France-Nigeria Agri-Business Club and the France– Nigeria Business Council, which promote enterprise ties and funding alternatives; Promosalons; 10 Alliance Française round Nigeria; the Institut Français du Nigeria in Abuja; two Lycées Français (Louis Pasteur in Lagos and Marcel Pagnol in Abuja); Campus France, which facilitates entry to increased training alternatives in France; and the Cooperation and Cultural Affairs Department, which advances instructional, scientific and cultural collaboration. Together, these establishments embody France’s dedication to constructing a dynamic, forwardlooking partnership with Nigeria, grounded in shared ambitions for economic development, innovation, training and cultural trade.
About FNCCI
Founded in 1985, the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry promotes economic, commercial and monetary relations between France and Nigeria. The Chamber is an important bridge between the Franco-Nigerian enterprise communities and serves as a catalyst for the ever-growing relationship between each international locations.
