African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with its development partners, has secured $2.2 billion (approximately ₦3.4 trillion) to execute the second phase of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative in Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that this funding, as revealed during th 2025 Standard Chartered Bank Africa Summit in Lagos, will be directed toward expanding the SAPZ programme to 24 additional states across the country.
The AfDB had previously supported the initial rollout of the project in eight locations: Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, Imo, Kaduna, Kwara, Kano, and the Federal Capital Territory.
Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB’s outgoing president and former minister of agriculture, explained that the initiative is designed to transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector by increasing food production, improving food security, and generating thousands of employment opportunities.
The aim is to create modern industrial platforms that will allow Nigeria and other African countries to add value to agricultural commodities rather than export raw produce.
So far, AfDB has committed over $934 million to the SAPZ programme, while an additional $938 million has been secured through co-financing from partners such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the West African Development Bank (BOAD).
Beyond Nigeria, the development of SAPZs is underway in 27 sites across 11 African countries. The bank and its partners have also launched the Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, attracting up to $3 billion in pledges to scale up the initiative continent-wide.
The Nigerian government and AfDB, in collaboration with other stakeholders, recently launched a new SAPZ site in Ijaiye, Akinyele LGA of Oyo State, marking another step forward in the implementation of the transformative agricultural project.
