Lagos Can Become $1tn Economy Through Private-sector Partnership

Lagos State's Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Folashade Kaosarat Bada Ambrose-Medebem, has urged deeper collaboration between government and private sector entities to boost the city's economic potential and propel it towards a $1 trillion economy by 2052. Speaking at the Julius Berger Luminary Soirée 2026, themed "The Lagos Proposition: Unlocking Value in a City in Transformation," Bada emphasized that the Lagos State Development Plan 2052 outlines a roadmap for sustainable growth through 447 initiatives spread across 21 sectors, focusing on a robust economy, a human-centric city, modern infrastructure, and effective governance.

The ambitious goal of reaching between $800 billion and $1 trillion by 2052 necessitates sustained policy consistency, disciplined implementation, and increased private-sector engagement. Bada noted that manufacturing accounted for 9.57% of the state's real GDP in the first quarter of 2026, highlighting the significance of industrialization, infrastructure, and enterprise development in driving long-term growth.

With a GDP of approximately $259.75 billion on a purchasing power parity basis in 2023, Lagos ranks as Africa's second-largest city economy and contributes over 30% of Nigeria's economic output.

Under the visionary leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Lagos is shifting from merely attracting investors to empowering them with bankable transactions and measurable economic outcomes. The state's flagship international investment summit, Invest Lagos, facilitates access to a pipeline of structured and progressively de-risked opportunities valued at more than N4 trillion across key sectors, all aimed at unlocking value in a city undergoing rapid transformation.