Businesses and households have highlighted high interest rates, multiple taxes and poor infrastructure as top three business constraints in September, even as they expressed optimism about the macroeconomy in the coming months.
In its Business Expectation Survey, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN said: “The Confidence Index stood at 31.5 index points in the current month (September, 2025), reflecting the optimism of respondents regarding the macroeconomy.
This optimism is projected to persist over the next six months, peaking at 51.8 index points.
“Respondents identified high bank charges (70.8), high/multiple taxes (70.8) andpoor infrastructure (70.7) as the top three (3) business constraints in September 2025, highlighting factors that directly impact on operational stability and profitability.
“At the bottom of the top ten constraints were Insufficient Power Supply (37.8) and Competition (40.4). This suggested that business constraints were more focused on financial factors than political challenges in the review period”.
Meanwhile, households have projected prices to increase in the coming months with their overall sentiment on the macroeconomy standing at -6.4 index points in September from-7.2 index points in August, indicating reduced pessimism.
