Business Confidence in Nigeria Strengthens in March 2025
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Business Expectations Survey (BES) report on Business Confidence in Nigeria for March 2025 reflects sustained optimism among Nigerian businesses regarding the macroeconomic outlook. Their optimism is driven by improved expectations for exchange rate stability.
In March, sectoral outlooks were strong, with Industry at 32.8, Agriculture at 32.9, and Services at 30.6. Expectations for the next six months were even more positive, rising to 51.1 for Industry, 48.7 for Agriculture, and 46.5 for Services. Thus, this signals growing business confidence about the Nigerian economy. The Business Confidence Index (BCI) further underlines this optimistic sentiment.
The Construction component of BCI led with 36.4, followed by Mining & Quarrying at 21.7, Non-Market Services at 20.2, Agriculture at 17.0, and Market Services and Manufacturing at 14.6 each. These figures reflect broad-based confidence across sectors, although with varying degrees of intensity, which is good for the economy.
However, despite the positive momentum, firms continue to monitor challenges such as inflation, currency fluctuations, and credit access. To sustain confidence and support growth, the government must ensure consistent policies, reinforce macroeconomic stability, and improve the ease of doing business.
