Bilateral trade between India and Nigeria climbed by 26 per cent to approximately $9 billion in the 2025/2026 fiscal year, up from $7.13 billion recorded in 2024/2025, as economic relations between both countries expand beyond oil and commodities into manufacturing, healthcare, energy, technology and job creation.
The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abishek Singh, disclosed that more than 200 Indian companies currently operate in the country and have collectively created close to 100,000 jobs, positioning Indian businesses as the second-largest employers of Nigerians after the Federal Government.
The growing corporate footprint also reflects a shift away from an export-driven relationship towards local production, with Indian companies increasingly setting up manufacturing and production facilities across pharmaceuticals, power, construction, consumer goods, healthcare and other services in Nigeria.
Healthcare is emerging as a key area of cooperation between the two countries. India’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Vertika Rawat, said Indian pharmaceutical exports to Nigeria reached $315 million in the 2024/2025 fiscal year, with India accounting for about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s total pharmaceutical imports and more than 90 per cent in some specific medicine categories.
She put Indian investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria at roughly $4 billion, a figure that underscores growing efforts to produce medicines locally rather than depend largely on imported finished products. This trend, she noted, is expected to boost skilled employment, strengthen supply chains and improve Nigeria’s domestic production capacity.
The economic relationship between both nations, which dates back more than six decades, was elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2007. Political engagement has also intensified in recent years, with President Bola Tinubu visiting India for the G20 Summit in 2023, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Nigeria in November 2024.
Beyond private sector investment, India has extended development assistance, concessional financing and technical training to Nigeria through its Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. Officials say the expanding partnership gives Nigeria access to Indian capital, technology and expertise needed to boost the country’s productive capacity.
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