Nigeria’s large pools of pension, insurance, and other institutional capital are coming under renewed focus as investors, policymakers, and business leaders prepare to examine how more domestic money can be channelled into businesses capable of driving economic growth and creating jobs.

The conversation will take centre stage at the 9th Annual Convening on Impact Investing, organised by the Impact Investors Foundation (IIF), scheduled to hold in Lagos on November 25–26, 2026.

The event, themed “Unlocking Institutional Capital for Nigeria’s Impact Economy,” is expected to bring together institutional investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs, development finance institutions, philanthropists, and other stakeholders to address what IIF describes as one of the major gaps in Nigeria’s impact-investing market: the limited flow of domestic institutional capital into investment-ready enterprises.

While Nigeria has substantial pools of long-term capital, including pension assets, insurance funds, sovereign vehicles, and bank capital, the foundation said more needs to be done to connect these funds with businesses and sectors capable of generating both financial returns and measurable social and environmental impact.

The issue is particularly significant for small and medium-sized businesses, which form a critical part of Nigeria’s productive economy but often face difficulties accessing patient, appropriately structured capital for expansion.

Speaking ahead of the event, IIF Chief Executive Officer, Etemore Glover, said Nigeria needs to move beyond conversations about the potential of institutional capital and focus on creating mechanisms that allow the funds to participate more meaningfully in the real economy.

“In recent times, we have engaged in serious conversations on how institutional capital can contribute significantly to the real economy and foster socioeconomic and environmental development in Nigeria,” Glover said.

She acknowledged that progress had been made but questioned whether it was sufficient given the scale of Nigeria’s development needs and opportunities.

The 2026 convening will, therefore, focus on the conditions required to unlock greater institutional participation, including policy frameworks, market infrastructure, investment strategies, deal structuring, and the development of a stronger pipeline of investment-ready businesses.

A major feature of the event will be curated SME-investor deal rooms, designed to directly connect investment-ready enterprises with institutional and impact investors.

The foundation is also expected to formally unveil the rebranded Nigerian Impact Economy Community (NIEC) at the event, bringing together public, private, and development-sector stakeholders around efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s impact economy.

Beyond capital mobilisation, discussions will examine emerging issues that could influence investment decisions, including artificial intelligence in ESG risk assessment, climate resilience, the creative economy, and investment readiness.

The growing use of AI in ESG assessment is expected to attract particular attention as investors increasingly seek better ways to identify environmental, social, and governance risks while evaluating potential investments.

The event will also host the 2026 IIF Annual Impact Investing Awards, which recognise investors, enterprises, and organisations contributing to measurable social and environmental outcomes.

Categories include Impact Investor of the Year, Social Enterprise of the Year, and the Innocent Chukwuma Award for Social Impact.

For Nigeria, the broader question behind this year’s convening is whether more domestic institutional capital can be structured and deployed into productive sectors instead of remaining disconnected from enterprises that need long-term financing to scale.

The 9th Annual Convening on Impact Investing will hold in Lagos on November 25–26, 2026, with attendance by paid registration.