Ndapwilapo Selma Shimutwikeni, CEO, RichAfrica Consultancy, said partnerships could accelerate skills development.

“From a business perspective, we need to build partnerships that encourage joint ventures between experienced countries and emerging countries like Namibia,” she said. “We need to look beyond just oil production and actually look at the entire value chain.”

Building on Shimutwikeni’s remarks, Gilbert Yevi, Lead Consultant, Grenada Hydrocarbon Technical Working Group, called for partnerships that share risks and benefits rather than simply replace one source of financing with another.

“We want cooperation and a collaboration in risk sharing, skill sharing, and sharing in the benefits,” he said.

Yevi also advocated regional training centers to pool expertise and help emerging producers access established industry capabilities.

Expanding on the topic of local content, Eric Williams, Principal Consultant and President, Royal Triangle Energy Solutions, said policies must be linked to a broader national development strategy, using petroleum resources to build domestic industries rather than focusing solely on exports.

“The Trinidad model is about using the molecules to develop the country,” he said, arguing that this vision should shape negotiations with upstream investors and the terms of petroleum contracts.

Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Regional Chair for Africa, World Energy Council, said national sovereignty concerns continued to limit practical regional cooperation, despite public commitments to collaboration.

“The first question they ask is: ‘Will the industry be in my territory?’ If it’s not, why should I? And for as long as we have this mentality, believe me, this cooperation and collaboration we’re talking about will just be theory,” he said.

Across the discussion, speakers emphasized that cooperation must translate into financing, enforceable commitments and local capabilities that endure beyond individual projects.

Processing is following the discoveries, as lithium facilities of $600m in Nasarawa State and $200m near Abuja sit alongside a $400m rare earth processing project in Nasarawa, and mining lease applicants must now submit value-addition plans. Annual mining revenue has risen from about N6bn before the current administration to more than N70bn by the end of 2025.

The routes to export markets are moving too, as the Federal Executive Council has approved deep seaports at Bakassi and Ondo as public-private partnerships, with the Bakassi port alone valued at $2.27bn.

With a month to go, investors and developers travelling to Abuja will meet these projects at close quarters. In investor boardrooms, the Government of Nigeria will review specific projects in depth, from large-scale infrastructure to multilateral programmes such as Mission 300.

Speaking to Energy News Network in September, Tunde Arisekola, Senior Advisor, Geological and Minerals Information at the African Minerals Development Centre, who joins the minerals session on the first day, said that “first and foremost all international investors coming to Abuja should understand that Nigeria is ready and open for business”. In the same interview he described Nigeria’s economy as “stable, safe, peaceful and welcoming to all international investors”.

The programme opens with a welcome from the Chief Host, H.E. Dr Oladele Henry Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, followed by sessions on how the Ministry of Power will drive capacity into Nigeria’s industrial hubs and on the policies opening the minerals sector to foreign investment, including domestic processing and value addition. The second day turns to the pipeline of transport and port infrastructure and the $1bn Domestic Green Bond, and closes with an investors’ clinic on the 2025 Tax Act.

Lagos State Government, a Nigeria NOW! partner, now regulates its own electricity market after NERC transferred oversight to the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Hon. Biodun Ogunleye, Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, told Energy News Network that “capital follows bankable cashflows”. The state’s job, he said, is “to create both the infrastructure plan and the commercial architecture that makes that plan financeable”.

On Friday 20 November, YES! Nigeria runs alongside the main programme under the theme “Empowering Today’s Entrepreneurs, Building Tomorrow’s Industrialists”. Abuja University and Philomath University are partners, and the Youth Sustainable Development Network is Community Partner. Its opening session hands the stage to young Nigerians already at work in the sector, among them Damilola Hamid Balogun of YSDN and Emmanuel Terwase of Boost Power.

Nigeria NOW! is held under the patronage of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, with the Lagos State Government, the Nigerian Indigenous Women in Mining & Natural Resources Organisation, Women in Mining, Nextier and The Electricity Hub as partners.

Key findings of the report include:

• The global Islamic finance industry maintained a strong growth trajectory in 2025, with total assets reaching US$6.5 trillion, up 9% year-on-year. Growth was supported by the continued expansion in Islamic banking, record sukuk issuance, strong Islamic fund performance, and new regulatory frameworks.
• Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Pakistan retained their positions as the world’s most developed Islamic finance markets. These countries continued to benefit from comprehensive regulation, strong institutional development, active financial markets, and well-established knowledge ecosystems.
• Several markets recorded notable gains in performance, including Türkiye, Tanzania, Kenya, Benin, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan, highlighting the growing momentum across both established and emerging Islamic finance markets.

The report also identified several structural trends that are shaping the industry’s development. Regulatory reforms and stronger market infrastructure are supporting growth beyond core markets, particularly across Africa and Central Asia. Sustainability guidelines are increasingly prioritised, although activity remains concentrated in developed markets. Digitalisation is also advancing, with FinTech, open banking, and tokenised sukuk influencing financing, issuance, and settlement while widening access to financial products. However, talent development is lagging industry expansion, emphasising the need for stronger specialist education.

Khalid Khalafalla, Acting Chief Executive Officer of ICD, said: “For ICD, these developments reinforce the importance of ensuring that Islamic finance serves as a practical instrument for inclusive and sustainable economic transformation. ICD remains committed to advancing private-sector development across its member countries through targeted financing and the promotion of Islamic financial solutions.”

Mustafa Adil, Head of Islamic Finance, LSEG, added: “Looking ahead, global Islamic finance assets are projected to exceed US$10.5 trillion by 2030, supported by continued Islamic banking expansion, growing sukuk issuance momentum, emerging-market adoption and demand for sustainable and digital financial solutions.”

The report draws on the Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI), a global benchmark that assesses the development of the Islamic finance industry across 140 countries through five key areas, Financial Performance, Governance, Sustainability, Awareness, and Knowledge. It provides a holistic view of the global Islamic finance landscape, measuring progress in alignment with Islamic principles and supporting stakeholders in identifying opportunities for growth and reform.

Read full report: Link (https://apo-opa.co/3TTw9yq)