Project finance in Nigeria
For founders and sponsors of a project in Nigeria who are considering financing it through a bond, a note or a similar instrument placed with international investors.
Nigerian revenues are earned in naira, while an international issuance is usually denominated in US dollars or euros. That mismatch is the first question any investor asks, and the structure has to answer it before the documents do.
Capital coming into Nigeria
Under the Central Bank of Nigeria's Foreign Exchange Manual (4th edition, May 2026, Memorandum 18), an electronic Certificate of Capital Importation (eCCI) must be issued for all capital transfers into Nigeria, by an Authorised Dealer Bank within 24 hours of the conversion of the funds into naira. Requests for foreign loans by companies are processed through Authorised Dealer Banks, which issue the eCCI, and the repayment of a foreign loan requires, among other documents, a completed Form A and the eCCI.
The practical consequence is simple: capital that is not documented on the way in cannot be repaid on the way out. Investors know this and look for it.
Which approvals and filings apply to a particular project is confirmed by Nigerian counsel; this page does not replace that advice.
Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Foreign Exchange Manual, 4th edition.
What the Bank does
International Finance Bank designs, structures and issues financial instruments through its affiliated entities, including as a means of securing financing for projects. Every proposal is analysed individually, from the perspective of a credit institution rather than a broker, and instruments are made available only to clients whose compliance file is complete. The route runs in three steps: a readiness review of the project dossier, client onboarding, then structuring. How the three steps work.
Bankability Check
Ten questions, about three minutes. They follow the points a credit institution examines before it considers financing a project. You receive an indicative score and, where something is missing, a precise list of what to prepare.
Your project looks ready for a readiness review
On your own answers, the essentials a bank looks for are in place. The next step is the readiness review: you upload the dossier, and the review assesses its completeness and bankability against the Bank's documentation standard. The fee is EUR 500, flat and non-refundable, for one project.
Promising, with gaps to close first
The project has substance, but a reviewer would stop at the points below. Close them before you submit; an incomplete dossier cannot be processed.
Not yet ready for a bank
That is not a verdict on the idea. It means the groundwork a bank needs is still missing. Start here:
This check is an indication based solely on your own answers. It is not an assessment by the Bank, not an offer of finance and not a commitment of any kind. Your answers are not stored; only the anonymous score is counted.
What a bank will ask for
The full list of documents for a project submission is set out on the Project Financing page. On how instruments support credit rather than replace it, see Structured Instrument Finance; on access to notes and instruments, see Instruments for Projects & Trade.
Next step
Prepare a complete project financing dossier
Complete dossiers enable IFB's readiness review of project feasibility, the business plan, management team, collateral and applicant's financial capacity.
Prefer to speak to the bank before you apply? Choose a time that suits you.
