Kigali, Rwanda, May 16, 2026 — To help drive tourism, create jobs and attract foreign investment, Nigeria’s Bank of Industry Limited (BOI) and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, have signed a Cooperation Agreement to advance the development of the Abuja Conference and Exhibition Arena (ACE Arena), a planned world-class conference and exhibition complex in Abuja. Envisioned to be delivered under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework, the ACE Arena will comprise conference and exhibition halls, staging areas, and hospitality, retail, and cultural facilities, integrated into a large-scale venue comparable to leading conference destinations across Africa. It aims to position Abuja as a top-tier destination for global events, bringing the economic benefits of large-scale international gatherings home to Nigeria, from conference and exhibition revenues and hospitality income, to year-round tourism spend and business activity generated by events hosted on Nigerian soil. Through the Cooperation Agreement, IFC will provide advisory services to BOI for the Arena’s early-stage project preparation. It will conduct market, financial, environmental, legal and regulatory assessments to determine the project’s scope and scale, infrastructure mix, and financing framework, laying the groundwork for subsequent development phases. With African governments funding the majority of infrastructure from domestic resources, the PPP structure is central to attracting the private capital the project requires. It underscores the shared commitment of IFC and BOI to ensuring the Arena is developed to the highest international standards of quality and sustainability, in a manner that attracts private sector participation and maximises its contribution to job creation, tourism, and long-term economic activity in Nigeria.
“Our partnership with IFC spans several areas critical to Nigeria’s development, and the ACE Arena represents an exciting new frontier in that relationship,” said Dr. Olasupo Olusi, Managing Director of BOI. “Infrastructure of this scale and ambition has the potential to unlock significant economic opportunity for Nigeria, positioning our country as a competitive destination for global business and cultural exchange. We are confident that IFC’s expertise will ensure the project is structured to deliver the kind of transformative, long-term impact that sits at the heart of BOI’s mandate.”
“Supporting Nigeria’s development agenda is a priority for the World Bank Group, and the ACE Arena demonstrates what becomes possible when public institutions and the private sector work together to develop infrastructure that creates real and lasting value,” said Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director, Nigeria and Central Africa. “This engagement sits at the heart of what the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria sets out to achieve in maximizing private capital for infrastructure, and we look forward to working with BOI to make that a reality for Abuja and for Nigeria.”
Over the past five fiscal years, IFC has committed $12.8 billion in investments to Nigeria’s private sector, including $1.9 billion in long-term financing and $10.9 billion in short-term financing. IFC has doubled its infrastructure commitments from $1.5 billion in 2020 to $3 billion in FY2025, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the continent.