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Lotus Capital Limited has announced plans to develop financing solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large corporations and other industry players, with a focus on expanding investment in agriculture, real estate, renewable energy and other productive sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
The founder and Managing Director of the non-interest investment management firm, Hajara Adeola, disclosed this at its 20th anniversary celebration in Lagos on Friday, saying the company would work more closely with businesses to address their financing needs, support production and create employment.
Adeola said the next phase of the company’s development would include deploying technology and working with entrepreneurs to identify financing opportunities across different sectors and business sizes.
“We want to move closer to the real economy, we want to contribute to the productive economy, finding innovative ways through technology as well to finance the agriculture sector, the real sector, the real estate sector, the renewable energy sector and to contribute to the production and employment of the Nigerian economy and the development of the Nigerian economy,” she said.
She added that the company’s ambition was to support businesses “from the SME all the way to the big behemoth like the Dangote Group, to find solutions to their financial needs and to be a partner in prosperity with them.”
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said non-interest financing could provide additional channels for mobilising long-term capital for industrial projects and other productive investments.
He explained that such projects often require substantial funding and long periods before generating meaningful returns, creating a mismatch between their financing needs and the structure of available funds.
Dangote called for greater private-sector participation in Sukuk financing, citing the Federal Government’s use of sovereign issuances to support road infrastructure.
“The next challenge is to extend this opportunity substantially to the private sector,” he said.
He identified manufacturing plants, industrial parks, ports, agricultural processing facilities, renewable energy projects and transportation networks as areas where non-interest financing could support investment.
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Dangote also stressed the need for non-interest finance to complement conventional financing, saying both systems could expand the capacity of Nigeria’s financial markets to mobilise capital.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, similarly identified non-interest finance as a potential source of investment in infrastructure, housing, manufacturing, technology and small businesses.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Finance, Mahmud Tajudeen Alao, the governor said the model could broaden the sources of long-term investment available to the state’s economy.
He said there were opportunities to extend financing to young entrepreneurs, women-led businesses and SMEs, while exploring investments in affordable housing, renewable energy, agriculture and infrastructure.
Alao urged Lotus Capital to build on the confidence it had established by developing financing solutions that connect investment capital with the needs of businesses and the wider economy.
The company’s board chairman, Fola Adeola, said Lotus Capital had helped expand awareness of non-interest finance and created opportunities for individuals, families and institutions to participate in Sharia-compliant investing.
He recalled that the company’s first Halal Fund attracted subscriptions exceeding its initial target of N1 billion, describing the response as an indication that investors were willing to consider alternatives to conventional investment products.
Over the past two decades, Lotus Capital has established four Securities and Exchange Commission-registered public mutual funds, collaborated with the Nigerian Exchange to develop the NGX Lotus Islamic Index and introduced a Waqf Endowment Fund through which investment income can support charitable activities.
The company also advised the Federal Government on its first three sovereign Sukuk issuances, which were used to finance road and bridge projects. Hajara Adeola said the firm continued to advise the government on Sukuk-related matters.
