The latest NESG-Stanbic IBTC Business Confidence Monitor has indicated that frequent power shortages, limited foreign exchange availability, and access to finance were the top challenges for businesses in January.
According to the report, despite these challenges, businesses in Nigeria saw a modest performance boost, indicating a better environment and potential growth in 2025, with the January 2025 Business Performance Index rising to +8.12, up from +0.77 in December 2024.
The NESG-Stanbic IBTC BCM report is a pool of economic indicators that measure the current business condition and the extent of optimism or pessimism that business managers feel about the general state of the Nigerian economy as it affects key business decisions within three months.
The NESG-Stanbic IBTC Business Confidence Monitor’s Current Business Index rose to +5.69 from +0.77 in December 2024, reflecting an uptick in commercial activity typical of this period.
“A sub-sectoral analysis revealed broadly subdued outcomes, with negative performances in non-manufacturing (-4.64), services (-1.40), trade (-0.84), and manufacturing (-0.66). However, these sectors showed relative improvement compared to December 2024. In contrast, agriculture recorded a weakly positive performance at +10.86.”
