CWEIC drives economic growth through IFC, manufacturers

By Merit Ibe

The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) is intensifying efforts to strengthen trade and investment in Nigeria by facilitating the establishment of manufacturing firms and supporting plans to develop an International Financial Centre (IFC) in Lagos.

The Chief Executive Officer of CWEIC, Samantha Cohen, disclosed this during a recent visit to Nigeria aimed at promoting trade and investment between the country and other members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Cohen said the council is working towards bringing an IFC to Nigeria, a move expected to further position both the national economy and Lagos as major investment destinations.

According to her, the CWEIC delegation is currently on a trade promotion mission in the country and plans to meet with the Lagos State Governor as well as the Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment to finalise arrangements for a major trade event scheduled for June 9 to 10, 2026.

She explained that the event will include the launch of the proposed International Financial Centre in Lagos, which would attract large delegations of investors from across Commonwealth countries.

Cohen noted that the initiative would further elevate Lagos’ global economic profile, adding that the state, already regarded as one of the largest economies in Africa, would benefit from increased international investment and stronger trade partnerships.

Cohen identified part of CWEIC’s role to enable Nigeria to realise its $1 trillion economy aspiration by 2030, to include providing its platforms to educate investors about the opportunities in Nigeria.

“So, we are having a big conference in London, in the City of London, in the Mansion House between April 20 and 21, 2026 which is the Commonwealth Trade Investment Summit, and the government of Lagos State, we hope, will be attending to promote Lagos State.

“That’s a big international audience. And we are providing opportunities for your leaders to tell the story, to tell everybody about what’s happening here, the dynamism, the innovation, the opportunities.

“So we are providing that platform. And we’re also providing partners across the Commonwealth.

“The huge advantage we bring is a global network at the highest level, because we have members who are businesses, and we also have governments that are members. So we are connecting at the highest level, which means business can be done more quickly.”

“So that will greatly position the Lagos economy. I think Lagos economy is the fourth largest in Africa, that will give Lagos state a great international platform because we will be bringing large delegations of investors from across other countries in the Commonwealth. So that’s what we’re working on.”

The CWEIC boss disclosed that there’s also a state visit for the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the United Kingdom, on the 14th and 15th of March 2026. “So, we are helping to feed into that event as well and to bring Lagos to the table because Lagos is also one of our Strategic Partners.”

She also mentioned that Nigeria is a vibrant hub and has about 25 members called strategic partners.

While on her mission in Nigeria, Cohen who co-hosted the Nigeria International Advisory Council meeting with the Nigeria Chairman, Mr. Olasupo Shasore SAN, visited some businesses that were invited to join as strategic partners and emphasized that the CWEIC through its network is facilitating the establishment of manufacturing firms in Nigeria.

“I think that manufacturing is the key to unlocking economic prosperity, and creating more manufacturing facilities on the continent as a whole, and in Nigeria, is really important because the cost of living for local people becomes so much more expensive when you have to manufacture offshore.

“One of our strategic partners, Russel Smith Group, is pioneering additive manufacturing in Nigeria. The group is building one of the biggest factories in the world in additive manufacturing in Lagos.

“It is going to be transformative for Lagos.

“They are partnering with another company, an Australian tech company, which is a fantastic example of Commonwealth collaboration as well.

“We can say to them, this market is growing very quickly and there are manufacturing opportunities.”

She explained that the reason additive manufacturing can work so well in Nigeria is because the country has all the raw materials.

“So this Russel Smith Group is manufacturing through 3D printing using powdered metal.

“So you have all the raw materials here. You can create 3D parts for cars, for defense, for farming equipment, for mining equipment.

“And that is happening here in Lagos. And things that you can pilot in Lagos can then be duplicated and modeled in other parts of the country, in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.”

She pointed out that the CWEIC’s relationship with the Enugu State Government is thriving.

“We are working on a number of projects with them. So, we will also look at promoting the values of Enugu State and helping them to position the Enugu economy and to educate investors about what they are doing.

“Because I think people don’t necessarily have all the information and then once they discover what’s going on here, there’s a real energy and excitement,” she said.

Cohen also said that the CWEIC is promoting the growth of Nigerian SMEs by linking them with businesses within the council’s network.

She also said that the CWEIC is bringing trade missions to Nigeria so that people can learn about the market, find the right local partner.

“We have a law firm as Strategic Partners, we give them legal frameworks to work with. So, of course, there are risks, but we create structures that enable people to de-risk their investments and to build relationships.

“I mean, good investment is really about building relationships. And we’ve been in the market for a very long time and so we have the opportunity to have these long-term relationships. So we trust people, we know who to work with, we know what to avoid.”

She observed that there is a completely new geopolitical landscape in which Nigeria is front and center of Africa’s big economic shift.

She said: “Africa is booming and Nigeria is front and center of the big economic shift.

“And I think Lagos, being the financial center of Nigeria, is very much in focus.

“So, my strategy really is we are building CWEIC because the demand is increasing.

“We have new interest from non-Commonwealth countries in the Commonwealth as a trading block.

“We have interest from the Gulf’s states, which we haven’t really seen before, who want to invest in places like Nigeria because they see the potential and the growth.

“I mean, the population is exploding. People are talking about Lagos. They are talking about Nigeria in all the financial centres of the world.

“Everybody can see the potential and the opportunity. And the next generation will really benefit if we can organise ourselves well.”

She added that the population growth in Nigeria means that it is a huge market, and countries are looking for new markets of scale because of the geopolitical shift.”