Nigeria and Mauritius are seeking to deepen investment and financial ties, with stakeholders highlighting Mauritius’ growing role as a gateway for Nigerian capital into Africa and other emerging markets.
Speaking at the Mauritius Business Forum in Lagos, organised by Mauritius Finance, Co-founder and Managing Director, ACQ Managers, Seun Onayiga, urged Nigeria to urgently ratify a long-delayed treaty with Mauritius.
He argued that the failure to complete the process had contributed to capital being routed through alternative jurisdictions.
Onayiga said the treaty, signed by both countries several years ago, remained unratified by the National Assembly, limiting the ability of investors to use Mauritius directly as a gateway for Nigerian capital.
He also called for greater use of domestic capital in developing Nigeria’s private markets, noting that less than five per cent of Nigerian financial assets was invested in alternative assets such as private equity.
He said the country’s large pool of domestic savings should play a greater role in providing patient and productive capital for businesses and infrastructure rather than relying predominantly on international investors to assume Nigerian private-market risk.
International investors, he said, should be treated as partners rather than rescuers, while stronger domestic investment capacity would make Nigeria more credible and attractive to foreign capital.
On cross-border financial structures, Onayiga said Mauritius could provide internationally recognised holding and investment structures for Nigerian companies and family offices seeking long-term sustainability and regional expansion.
He identified regulatory fragmentation across African markets as another major obstacle to investment.
According to him, businesses increasingly operate across national borders while financial infrastructure remains largely domestic, with restrictions limiting how much fund managers can invest outside their home countries.
Addressing those constraints, he said, would be essential to creating a more integrated African investment ecosystem in which capital could move alongside commercial opportunities.
Chief Executive Officer, Mauritius Finance, Faraz Rojid, said Mauritius had built its financial centre around political, social and economic stability, alongside what he described as an investor-friendly tax and regulatory environment.
He said Mauritius served as a strategic connecting node between Africa and the rest of the world, providing a platform for investors seeking to attract or deploy capital across borders.
Rojid said the country’s geographic position between Africa and Asia, combined with its financial infrastructure, had enabled it to develop into a hub for international capital flows.
According to him, Mauritius has a 15 per cent headline corporate tax rate, alongside a partial exemption regime for certain foreign-sourced income that can reduce the effective tax rate to three per cent or less.
He also highlighted Mauritius’ network of tax treaties and other investment arrangements as part of the jurisdiction’s proposition to international investors.
Rojid said between 15,000 and 18,000 highly skilled bilingual professionals work across Mauritius’ banking and non-banking financial services sectors.
He said the jurisdiction provides a range of structures for individuals, high-net-worth clients and corporates, including investment holding entities, special-purpose vehicles and funds.
On Nigeria, Rojid said Mauritius currently mediates significant investment flows despite the absence of a ratified double taxation avoidance agreement between both countries.
He said investments mediated from Mauritius into Nigeria stood at about $3.4 billion, while approximately $4 billion flowed from Nigeria through Mauritius into other emerging markets, particularly across Africa.
He stressed that Mauritius’ value proposition extended beyond tax optimisation to include investment protection, risk mitigation and improved efficiency in capital deployment.
Addressing concerns over financial regulation and Mauritius’ previous placement on the Financial Action Task Force grey list, Rojid said the country worked with the private sector, government and law-enforcement agencies to exit the list after 18 months.
Executive Chairperson, Nexus Global Financial Services Limited, Nousrath Bhugeloo, called for greater trade exchange among African countries.
She said Africa was crucial to global food security and economic growth, stressing the need to strengthen agriculture and promote intra-African tourism.
Chief Executive Officer, EnterpriseNGR, Obi Ibekwe, said Africa was rich in opportunities but required trusted institutions to facilitate capital flows.
She said EnterpriseNGR was working on the Lagos International Financial Centre project, a reform programme involving government and the private sector, aimed at creating a trusted environment for investors in Lagos.
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