The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has reported a 10% growth in its net assets for the 2022 financial year. The sovereign wealth fund’s net assets increased from ₦919.73bn in 2021 to ₦1.02tn in 2022, according to its recently released audited results. The NSIA also recorded its tenth year of positive earnings in spite of volatility across markets, with the earnings of the NSIA Group at N96.96bn, representing a 34% dip compared to N146.98bn recorded in 2021. The dip was attributed to the performance of its Future Generations and Stabilisation portfolios that are invested in emerging and developed financial market instruments.
However, the NSIA’s interest income, revenue from infrastructure business, and management fees earned from fiduciary activities increased by 34.5% (₦15.7bn) year-over-year. The sovereign wealth fund’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the performance was recorded despite the challenges in the operating environment.
Mr. Umar-Sadiq also said that the NSIA is committed to delivering increased investments in critical sectors of the economy, driving growth across its funds, and attracting third-party capital into Nigeria’s infrastructure sector. He added that the NSIA would be resourcing its various platforms targeted at emerging sectors, such as renewable energy, sustainability, innovation, and healthcare, in 2023. These platforms would ensure the Authority achieves its dual objectives of delivering financial returns and impactful social outcomes.
NSIA’s report highlighted the unprecedented shocks the fund experienced in 2022, such as the COVID-19 lockdown in China, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, food and energy crises, supply-chain disruptions, soaring inflation, and monetary policy tightening, which impacted the financial markets. Despite these challenges, NSIA reported significant milestones in implementing its infrastructure strategy in 2022, delivering key projects across core sectors of focus and the implementation of specialised federal government initiatives.
In the agriculture sector, NSIA delivered the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative and opened the Pandagric Novum farm, a joint venture between NSIA and Signature Agri Investment for the cultivation of maize and soybeans, connected to a 147,000 metric tons per annum capacity poultry feed mill. In the technology sector, NSIA introduced the NSIA Prize for Innovation, a business enhancement initiative to support early-stage, growth-driven tech solutions through education, mentorship, and financing. NSIA also recorded milestones in the gas industrialisation sector, healthcare, power and road.
