Abuja, Nigeria – The European Union has approved a 288 million euro support package for Nigeria, targeting healthcare, agriculture, migration management, climate resilience and digital public infrastructure under its Global Gateway Strategy, following an EU Nigeria ministerial news conference in Abuja, the capital of Africa’s most populous country.
Okay News reports that Stefano Signore, Director General for International Partnerships at the European Commission, said the funding signals deeper European Union investment in Nigeria’s development and long term stability, with healthcare and agriculture identified as priority sectors for improved infrastructure, local manufacturing capacity and social inclusion.
Signore added that the European Union is strengthening cooperation with Nigeria on migration, supporting better economic opportunities and structured reintegration programmes for Nigerians returning from abroad, aiming to tackle root causes of irregular migration while helping returnees rebuild their lives at home.
Nigeria’s Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, said the package builds on the 2023 European Union Nigeria Strategic Dialogue, which reset and deepened relations between both sides, and framed the Global Gateway Strategy in Nigeria as more investment driven, result oriented and impact focused.
Bagudu stressed that under President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian government is implementing what he described as bold and far reaching macroeconomic reforms, designed to stabilise the economy, strengthen public finances and create a more welcoming environment for private sector led growth through better revenue mobilisation, greater transparency in public financial management, more disciplined public spending and a more efficient foreign exchange market.
Out of the 288 million euro package, 50 million euros will support healthcare manufacturing in partnership with Nigeria’s state owned Bank of Industry, boosting local production of medical and pharmaceutical products and reducing dependence on imports for essential health supplies.
A further 85 million euros will back agribusiness value chains, focusing on dairy and cocoa, which are important for food security, rural livelihoods and export earnings, while also supporting farmers, processors and related small and medium sized enterprises across Nigeria’s agricultural regions.
Another 108 million euros will be channelled directly to the Nigerian government, combining 22 million euros in grants with 86 million euros in concessional loans, providing budget support and targeted project finance for agreed development priorities.
In addition, 23 million euros is earmarked for digital public infrastructure to modernise government platforms and services, 5 million euros is allocated for training in health, pharmaceutical and nutrition sectors, 16 million euros will go toward stronger migration governance and reintegration efforts, and 1 million euros will fund a climate and agriculture twinning project linking Nigerian and European partners.
Bank of Industry Managing Director Olasupo Olusi said the collaboration would provide long term finance to critical sectors such as healthcare and agriculture, noting that work with the European Investment Bank is expected to strengthen local production, reduce import dependence and build resilience in key supply chains.
Finland’s Under Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Jarno Syrjaia, announced that Finland will lead work on improving Nigeria’s digital public services under the Team Europe Initiative, including support for the Nigerian government’s Three Million Technical Talents, or 3MTT, programme, which aims to train millions of people in digital skills needed for the modern economy.
The European Union has been scaling up investments in Nigeria as part of a broader, long standing economic partnership with Africa, and under the Global Gateway Initiative it has pledged up to 150 billion euros for the continent by 2027, with Nigeria identified as a major beneficiary for infrastructure, energy, digital and human development projects.
In 2025, the European Union announced a separate 300 million euro commitment for new projects in Nigeria’s North West and North East regions, targeting communities affected by insecurity and underdevelopment, with a focus on expanding opportunities for women and young people through education, livelihoods and basic services.
The new 288 million euro package is expected to reinforce this wider European Union Nigeria Partnership by improving health systems, food value chains, digital infrastructure and migration management, while supporting Nigeria’s economic reforms, and both sides say the relationship will keep evolving toward investment centred, impact focused initiatives that match Nigeria’s development goals and the pressures of a rapidly changing global economy.
