Nigeria is setting ambitious goals to boost diaspora remittances to $1 billion a month and is considering launching a U.S. diaspora bond in 2025, Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso revealed in an interview on Thursday.
Governor Cardoso, speaking at the IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, said that Nigerians abroad, especially in the United States where the largest expatriate community resides, are eager to invest back home. Remittance inflows have surged since the current government implemented significant economic reforms last year, doubling from $250 million monthly in the spring to $600 million in September. The Finance Ministry would oversee any diaspora bond issuance.
“These Nigerians want to invest beyond just financially,” Cardoso explained, noting that the naira’s increased competitiveness has created new opportunities for diaspora investors in Nigeria’s asset and business markets.
Since President Bola Tinubu’s administration began, Nigeria has faced deep-rooted economic challenges, including a significant foreign exchange payment backlog, crippling fuel subsidies, and a tightly regulated naira. However, sweeping reforms are beginning to show results, Cardoso said. Under these changes, the naira has lost three-quarters of its value, and fuel prices have quintupled, but investor confidence is gradually improving.
Cardoso, who took office in 2023 after the departure of his predecessor, Godwin Emefiele, emphasized that the Central Bank would maintain a vigilant stance on inflation and let data shape interest rate decisions. Policy consistency is key, he said, to attracting longer-term foreign investments, as many investors remain cautious.
Nigeria’s foreign reserves have now surpassed $40 billion, and the cheaper naira could catalyze efforts to diversify away from oil, which has historically dominated Nigeria’s economy. Cardoso added that his discussions with investors, ratings agencies, and Nigerians abroad reinforced the government’s economic strategy, sending a positive message back home.
